Capital Cowboys
by Blue-Jaye.Fevre
Summary: They were young, restless, and bored. Now, united under a silver tongued wanderer and his right hand man, a group of talented misfits, rogues, killers and prodigies form into one of the greatest Mercenary companies in the Capital Wasteland. Rated M for Violence, Lang, Sexual Content. Humor, Romance, Action, Adventure. All OC main characters. Act 1/3
1. Prologue - Someday the Sun Will Shine

'These guys were serious fucking business.' Barry thought as he raced past his dying comrades.

He and his gang had been relaxing after a successful raid on some farm run by some dumbshit waste landers. Those pricks were always trying to start something out here, raising Brahmin or Mole Rats or whatever the fuck you raised out in the wastes.

At least they stocked up on food and shit, and they didn't put up much of a fight. This one even had daughters, so that counted for something. They had been back in their camp for about an hour or so, minding their own fucking business when a motherfucking missile slammed into one of their shacks, killing whichever bums had been inside.

Barry's gang was pretty damn big, with more than fifty raiders working under him and Screed, his lieutenant. They took down whichever assholes got in their way, and they had _rarely_ been challenged by any sentient creatures in the wasteland.

So to have them be assaulted by a dozen or so attackers out of the fucking blue was a little much for Barry to handle. Barry's first reaction was another Regulator raid. Typical.

They thought themselves to be keepers of the "peace" or whatever the fuck that meant in the Wasteland. Barry thought they were inconsiderate douchebags. Every man had a right to eat, right?

All Horde raiders knew that the Regulator fuckwads were dangerous. They were a bunch of Law Bringers who wielded tough guns and preyed on raiders frequently. They only attacked in small groups though, all guerilla warfare and that shit. Barry had never seen more than six or so Regulators attacking in a group.

So why the fuck were they under attack from nearly twenty of the bastards! Barry had an answer:

_These kids were not the fucking regulators!_

At first Barry thought that it was Talon Company. But these kids were too young to be with those assholes. Most weren't even covered in armor.

They were too clean cut to be raiders, too vicious to be Brotherhood, too tactical to be Outcasts.

They were something entirely different. Barry wasn't afraid of no kids with guns.

At least until they mowed through his camp like a pack of Deathclaws, gunning and slashing at anything that moved. These fuckers would give those snot nosed brats from lamplight a run for their money.

There was some invisible sniper taking potshots along the rock outcropping that helped serve as a natural barrier to pests and enemies. Great help that thing was right now.

The invisible sniper was trumped in assholery by the invisible Missile Launcher, casually firing hot death into the camp every time his gang tried to regroup and form a barricade.

That was better than the gigantic man wielding a sledgehammer as if it were a toy, breaking bones with singular, one handed strikes.

Which was more merciful than the man with the killer sentry bots, whose bots both cut down raiders and ended the lives of any raider still breathing. The kid in the dress was assisting his robots in putting down any surviving raiders trying to flee the battle.

Another girl with an antique revolver was proving to be a real pain, firing off rounds faster than he could count them.

Meanwhile another girl, wielding an iron fist had an uppercut that was so strong it knocked the head off of Screed outright.

All the while a gaunt man in a business suit calmly fired off rounds from his gigantic magnum at anything still putting up a fight.

These kids meant fucking business, and Barry was going to live to fight another day against them. Avenge his gang, even. As soon as he escaped of course. Barry pushed past two raiders who were running towards the sounds of combat. Barry himself had made it to the edge of his camp, where he only had to make his way through several passages of rocks in order to escape.

He turned a corner and ran straight into the sharp end of a switchblade.

"Whoops! My bad, you raider piece of shit!" spoke his assailant who was…

A small girl with a pony tail and a baseball cap, garbed in very revealing Merc gear. The fuck?! Did this little bitch just jump him?

The girl twisted the blade, which further opened the tear in Barry's left lung. It became hard to breath after that.

With her other hand she unholstered a silenced pistol and pressed it to his temple.

"Fugggh you-"

_Bang._

* * *

_Thank you for reading! Please rate and review!_


	2. The Makings of a Legend

_Six Months earlier…_

Vincent Kayser was roughly 5'10. He weighed 187 pounds, all of it hard, lean muscle. He was stocky but graceful in his movements. He had a decidedly Germanic face: a small stubbed nose, rounded cheeks tanned golden brown by days spent under the wasteland sun; Blonde hair cut close, with a clean shaven face. As a whole, nothing on his face came off as particularly hard. Except his eyes of course.

Vincent's steel gray eyes missed absolutely nothing. They pierced into the jackets of grimy strangers, under the counters and tables of bars and hideouts. They found guns on jovial merchants, blades on worn whores and ill intent in every man who crossed his path.

Vincent's eyes could scratch diamonds.

The scars helped too. A trio of long lines ran from Vincent's right temple, down his right cheek, and stopped just at his jawline.

He considered himself lucky; if he were standing any closer to his opponent the scars would have been far longer, and far deeper. Assuming his was still alive to have them heal of course.

If Vincent wasn't enough to deter his opponents, then Lazarus was.

Lazarus, of course, was Vincent's confidant, point man, chief counsel and backup.

Standing at 6'2, Lazarus was more than two hundred pounds of hard muscle. He was also _quick. _Many a raider had met their end when they thought they could outrun the large man, who moved with such agility that even Vincent was still wowed at how the large man was able to be so_ fast_.

Of course, Lazarus was older and more traveled than Vincent was. Vincent had just barely left his hellish home when the two bumped into each other. Brought together by the common threat of the wasteland, the two formed a fast friendship. Vincent was a fast learner, picking up marksmanship and hand to hand combat in a matter of weeks, all under the tutelage of Lazarus.

Lazarus was a font of combat knowledge and wasteland survival skill. When Vincent plied him for his background, Lazarus merely responded that he came from the northeast, near the ruins of New York.

They traveled together for nearly five years, from Vincent's late adolescent 19 to his fully grown 24.

In time he became a veritable killing machine. Raiders, Mirelurks, Slavers, Ferals and Mutants all fell to Vincent's skills with the gun and the blade. Vincent and Lazarus even took on a small Deathclaw nest during their winter in Delaware.

Vincent chuckled at the memory. Lazarus still held fast to the idea of Delaware being "boring" and filled with "Too little action."

Now they had begun moving southwards, working their way towards DC, commonly referred to by its post-war moniker: The Capital Wasteland.

Vincent was occupied with cleaning his shotgun. Carefully he scrubbed the filthy barrel, coated in layers of grime and gore. Lazarus was amazed that of all the weapons Vincent had chosen in their journeys that he had chosen the complicated and multi-part shotgun as his de facto choice of killing.

Lazarus favored his .32 caliber rifle. Easy to clean and easy to load, the .32 was a prime choice for many waste landers in Post War America.

Lazarus was a crack shot with his iron sights, and he had fixed a sharpened bayonet to the front of the barrel for those pesky close range kills.

But Lazarus wasn't cleaning his .32 right now. He was tending to several iguanas Vincent had caught on his scouting run here in the Capital Wasteland.

They had traveled two months from the Delaware/Maryland border to the Capital Wasteland, braving multiple threats (Not one, but two separate raider hordes)

Now they were virtually there. After two months of trekking through dunes and ruined towns, dealing with Cannibalistic murderers, Yao Guai dens, and all kinds of radiation they had finally arrived in the Capital Wasteland.

It was exactly as Lazarus pictured it: Dry, dusty, and filled with all of the same things he had been seeing for the last twenty years of his life.

Well, there were far more Radscorpions in the Capital Wasteland than up north. Radscorps were a pain in the ass. You couldn't eat their thick, chitonous exoskeletons, their blood was toxic to humans and their bodies stank while they were still alive, and in death they were a truly repugnant smell.

At least their poison glands were worth something. Vincent was good at dealing with Caravan merchants. For all of his talents, Lazarus was not great at dealing with traders and merchants. The concept of haggling was always elusive to him.

Vincent however was a silver tongued devil. Lazarus had met some smooth operators in his time, but Vincent could talk the biggest of skeptics into charging into a nest of Deathclaws with nothing more than wooden sticks.

Hell he had convinced Lazarus to join him in roaming the wasteland, scavenging for goods and taking on hostile wasteland inhabitants for survival.

Lazarus knew why the kid kept moving, never settling down and relaxing, always on the move for a new place to roam, a new town to scavenge, a new sight to see.

He knew that the kid was running from something. What this something was, Lazarus wasn't sure. Despite their bonding over five years of fighting alongside one another and helping each other during their hard falls, Vincent still had yet to mention what he was running from, or his past.

Lazarus had never revealed his past to Vincent, but that was acceptable. He didn't want to put any undue pressure on his ward. If they wanted to build a future together instead of ruminating on their pasts, all was well.

The distant sound of gunfire wasn't what broke Lazarus' train of thought.

Vincent was. He sat up quickly and grabbed his 10mm pistol, heading in the direction of the gunfire.

Lazarus sighed and grabbed his rifle, following the kid into his new adventure knowing full well that he was incapable of talking him out of it.

The firefight was between two different groups and it was, dramatically Vincent noted, set in a valley where the two sides were pinned behind rocky barricades.

On the left were a small group of men and women dressed in leather dusters, armed with assault rifles and combat shotguns. Vincent knew from firsthand experience that those kinds of arms were not easy to come by in the wastes.

The group on the right were dressed in black combat armor, complete with helmets.

All of the members were men, and they wielded far superior equipment: Laser rifles and explosives. One man trained a missile launcher on the group and fired.

The missile raced towards the duster wearing fighters before smashing into half of the group, coating the section in fire and shrapnel laden death.

The remaining dusters were trying to hold back the black armored men with little to no avail.

Vincent wasn't partial to either side, but if he wanted to scavenge those bodies, he would need to take down the armored opponents.

Vincent moved towards the side of the rocky outcropping and vaulted over the side, skidding down into the valley. Lazarus stayed topside to cover Vincent. He also had to see about getting rid of that Missile Launcher…

Three loud bangs in rapid succession heralded Vincent's entrance into the fight.

Two Black armored opponents were down, and a third was wheeling around to fight the new attacker when a .32 hit him in the dead center of his forehead.

The eight or so remaining opponents had already turned towards their newfound opponents with their weapons raised. Before they could so much as fire a shot, Vincent whipped a frag grenade in their direction and dove behind a small boulder.

Lazarus picked off black armors who had gotten far enough away from the blast radius to be affected by Vincent's grenade. Two men had been engulfed in the explosion, while a third had his body shredded by the shrapnel and lay profusely bleeding on the valley floor.

Lazarus took down two of the survivors leaving only a fraction of the black armors to fight back.

As the black armors fired on Lazarus, they found themselves caught up in a firefight with Vincent, who had snagged one of the assault rifles off of a dead duster.

After several minutes of intense back and forth firing, the remaining black armors were killed, bodies slumped unceremoniously against the walls of the valley or on its dirt floor.

Lazarus moved down into the valley to join Vincent, who was already checking the vitals of the Dusters.

He found random bits of gore belonging to the group of Dusters who had taken the missile hit. Several dusters had been shot up so badly that their duster jackets were worth little more than scrap leather.

One of the last to fall, an older man, had a single bullet in his head. Vincent slid off the man's duster and tried it on. It was fairly large on Vincent and he bundled it up for later. In the pocket of the duster jacket was a notice:

"Attention Regulators!"

'Must be the name of the dusters.' Vincent thought. He continued to read on.

"Sheriff Cruz has placed a new bounty on all Talon Company Mercenaries in the Capital Wasteland. Regulators are to eliminate Talon Company personnel with extreme prejudice. Bounties are 35 caps a finger. All kills will be moderated by each squad's deputy. Happy hunting!"

'Damn. 35 caps a kill? There were nearly 400 caps in this valley alone. And these assholes were easy.' Vincent mused.

Scavenging for a living either yielded strong hauls that left men incredibly wealthy and set for life. Some older scavengers claimed that the greatest treasure they had ever gotten out of the business was their lives. It was a pure crapshoot.

Lazarus was looting through the bodies of the Mercenaries, picking out weapons, ammo clips, and any other valuables that could be scavenged.

Vincent however was focused solely on the armor the mercenaries wore. The metal breast-plate and pauldrons fit him just right.

After collecting several laser rifles and a fair amount of ammo, Vincent fitted his newly gained armor. It was weathered and beaten, and stunk of death.

It was also the most reassuring piece of clothing he had worn in his entire life.

It had been… 16 months… no 17 months since Vincent had had any proper armor to wear, and this blood stained breastplate was far more adequate than his previous set of armor.

It was also fit nicely, but given Vincent's build that didn't surprise him very much. He may have been shorter than most of his opponents, but Vincent was cut like all hell. He knew it, Lazarus knew, several now dead Mirelurks who had ambushed him in the middle of river bathing knew it (Vincent's first, and subsequently last experience with baths), and a whole string of female Wasteland settlers in New York were well aware of it too.

Vincent grinned at the memories. It had been a long while since he had fooled around with a woman. Of course, the last woman he remembered fooling around with tried to shoot him in the face.

Shuddering, Vincent walked over towards Lazarus to see what the resourceful man had scavenged.

It turned out to be the remains of the missile launcher, two sets of moderately intact combat armor, and around 80 caps. Lazarus was an artist at scavenging caps from dead bodies. Vincent remembered Lazarus scavenging caps off of a dead Mole Rat once. To this day Vincent still couldn't figure out how he did it. Frankly, Vincent was happy not knowing how.

"Find anything good in the haul Kid?" Lazarus was packing up his items into a large sack, expertly disassembling items and organizing them into the space with learned efficiency.

"Some armor, couple laser rifles, caps, oh and this!" Vincent held up the large Duster for Lazarus to see.

Lazarus gently took the Duster from Vincent and appraised it. Nodding at the craftsmanship and lack of major damage, he handed the duster back to Vincent.

"Nice job Kid, but I think you can do better than that."

"Oh yeah? How so, Big man?" Vincent asked in reply.

"Try it on."

"What?! This thing is huge! It will just bog me down in combat!"

"Try it on _over _your armor jackass."

"Oh, shut up!" Vincent tried to fire back, all in playfulness.

He awkwardly slid his arms into the heavy leather sleeves of the duster. After readjusting it several times Vincent had the fit down.

It fit like a glove over his armor. The greaves on Vincent's arms clung to the insides of his sleeves, while the pauldrons held the duster up so that the bottommost parts fell to his shins.

The Duster wasn't hot, and he barely noticed the weight. He had a fair amount of mobility in his arms, and walking didn't seem to be a problem.

He did a fashionable twirl and faced back around to Lazarus, who was grinning like a fiend.

"It looks like it was tailor made for you Vincent."

"The fuck is a Tailor?"

"Pre-war makers of clothing. They made outfits from scratch, often custom fitted for their clients. Hence the reference." Lazarus waved over the Duster.

"Oh, gotcha. Thanks Lazzy!"

The big man grumbled and motioned for Vincent to grab his gear and get moving. Vincent knew he had come upon an excellent catch that night. What he did not know was how much this event would mark him in the years to come.


	3. Six Seconds

A week later the pair were approaching the settlement of Megaton. They had passed through a smaller settlement four days past, called Canterbury Commons. The residents had been friendly, and had paid good money for Vincent and Lazarus' loot. While the town was swimming in caps, it lacked a proper bar. Vincent hadn't gotten shitfaced for a long while, and he was determined to achieve that state in record time.

After trudging through the wastes, dealing with nearly a hundred Radscorps (no biggie) and some large, freakish mutants at the only bridge for miles (also no biggie, but they were pretty tough bastards to take down. Not very well coordinated though) they finally got onto a real road and road that straight south.

Megaton was somewhat atypical for a wasteland settlement. Yes it looked like every other settlement in New York and Pennsylvania the pair had ambled across, but they had never encountered one so big before.

Megaton must have had a population of around a hundred people, which Vincent considered to be enormous.

The pair made their way to a large bar in the back of the town, appropriately titled "Moriarty's Saloon"

"Excited big man?" Vincent asked Lazarus.

The ever evasive partner was carefully studying his surroundings, evaluating every threat, blind spot and escape route. Vincent walked with him as he waited for him to reply.

"Try not to get too drunk this time Kid." Lazarus grunted back noncommittally

"I never get drunk; I merely pass from one state of excellence to another."

"Mm hmm. Does your definition of Excellence include throwing up all night long in the desert?"

"Nah, typically that level of excellence implies several dropped pairs of panties."

Lazarus snorted and opened the door to bar

It was perfect:

A dozen patrons sat or stood, smoking cigarettes and taking swigs from dusty beer bottles.

The dim lighting played havoc on everyone's faces, and the smoke only added to the hazy feel of the bar. A ghoul bartender polished glasses behind the counter. A redheaded floozy was chatting up a scavenger by the staircase. A man in a business suit was playing a board game with a petite blonde.

An old pre-war ditty was playing on the radio. It was upbeat and featured a scratchy violin, while a man wailed about getting into the pants of his sweetheart. In one corner a pair of older waste landers were dancing to the tune, while in another a group of waste landers were quietly talking amongst themselves.

Vincent hadn't felt this at home since he was… back home. He blacked out the memory and approached the bar.

Vincent ordered a shot of whisky, while Lazarus ever the stick in the mud ordered a Nuka-Cola. They spent some time just shooting the shit and relaxing in civilization, well-earned civilization Vincent might add, before heading out again.

A pretty woman was walking by him, and Vincent barely noticed her, until his instincts kicked in.

Before he knew it she had an old fashioned revolver at the back of his head. Lazarus had his .32 pistol trained in the girl in a heartbeat.

Vincent put his hand on his combat knife when he heard the gun cock.

"Don't even fucking _try it_ Talon asshole!" The girl hissed venomously.

The whole bar had gone quiet. Most of the waste landers stood back when the girl mentioned the word Talon. Several looked ready to gang up on Vincent.

A young man with black hair stood up and began shouting at Vincent's assailant.

"Ginny, what the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you really think that a Talon would just amble into town like he did?" Vincent wanted to buy this stand up gentleman a beer.

"Oh whatever Leon, Look at his armor. Tell me, is that not a fucking talon on the breastplate?" Ginny snarled digging the barrel of her revolver deeper into the back of Vincent's neck.

"Gee, like no one has ever looted armor before. Get real Virginia." Leon did not back down. Vincent decided this fine man deserved two beers.

"This kid, like all fuck he just moseyed into a Talon group and took them ou-"

Virginia loosened her grip for a fraction of a second, which was all Vincent needed to elbow her in the stomach and disarm her. Wrestling her to the ground, Vincent jammed the pistol into the base of her jaw.

"Let's get something straight here. I'm not Talon Company. Hell, Lazzy and I aren't even from the Capital. We rolled into the wasteland a week ago from up north, looking for better loot. En route to the Metro, we came across a battle between the Regulators-" Vincent patted his duster with one hand. "-And the Talon Company. We got there a little too late to help the good guys, but we cleared out the mercs. Before going into the ruins for some grade-A scavenging, we decided to have a fucking drink right here in your town. You courtesy is _delightful_." Vincent had shouted the second half of his tirade at the girl, who was…

Fuck she was gorgeous. Short brown hair curled circularly around her face in a neat bob. Her skin was a golden brown, no doubt from wasteland traveling. A button nose centered a small face with bright brown eyes and a large mouth, framed by paradoxically small lips.

She was gaping at Vincent now, no doubt surprised that he had been able to best her in hand to hand combat. 'Was this chick that hard to take down? Or was she just cocky as shit?' Vincent wondered

He stood up and flipped his pistol around, handing it to her handle first.

Leon's rough laugh could be heard in the background. "Heh, oh he's definitely a Talon Ginny. Better shoot him before he holds the door open for you!"

Virginia merely scowled at Leon and gave him the finger, before taking her weapon back from Vincent. He merely chuckled at their antics. Lazarus lowered his gun and the saloon began to swing back towards normalcy.

"Thanks. Sorry if I roughed you up a little. You look like you can take it." She quipped easily, tension leaving her shoulders instantly.

Vincent grinned at her. "Does this mean you'll buy me a round to make it all better?"

"Well I'm not going to kiss it jackass, so I guess that'll have to do." Ginny turned back to the bar. "Gob! Another shot of- fuck it, just bring a bottle and two clean glasses!"

The ghoul bartender nodded and got out the requested materials.

Vincent extended his hand in her direction. "Vincent Kayser."

Ginny extended hers back. "Virginia Ginsberg. Most call me Ginny."

The two spent a good two hours talking about their shared experiences in the wasteland. It turned out that Ginny and Leon worked together for the town's only vendor/resident lunatic Moira Brown. Moira, as Ginny explained, was a complete nutter who envisioned a wasteland free of poverty and danger. Her dream was to research the wasteland at depth and publish her findings into a survival guide of sorts. Ginny had informed him that her efforts had only ended with six very dead assistants and the current employ of Virginia and Leon. Both of them scavenged items in the wasteland for Moira, in return for food and shelter.

Leon only had a sickly mother and sisters left alive in his family living in some large settlement near the DC Metro, while Virginia had lost her father three years back to Talon mercenaries.

At least that cleared some things up for Vincent.

Leon moved out to ease give his family the living space, and sent most of his money back to his mother. Leon , as Virginia recalled, was a master at managing money and budgeting. He somehow found ways to send the lion's share of his paycheck back to the large settlement, Virginia corrected him: Rivet City, while still having enough left over for food, clothes, ammunition and other pleasantries. Virginia seemed to blow her entire paycheck on booze and food. And her father's revolver.

It was the last gift he gave her before his untimely death, and she cherished it not only for sentimental value, but for practical value as well. It was an older gun, with a reloading gate by the barrel. The frame was inscribed with intricate patterns, and the handle was a glossy, heavily scratched material, somewhat like bone.

Vincent knew it was a beautiful gun, and Virginia explained that it was just as dangerous as it was beautiful. He chuckled and told her "Of course it was."

Vincent turned to pour himself another shot when Virginia had cocked the gun and fired off more than a half dozen shots in the span of seconds.

Vincent flinched until he saw that Virginia had shot six empty glasses sitting on a shelf opposite the bar.

Six direct hits in six seconds. No wonder Virginia did not expect to be disarmed by Vincent.

"Holy shit." Vincent muttered. Vincent couldn't hit a fucking Brahmin while drunk, let alone a set of lowball glasses. This girl was a legitimate gunslinger.

Virginia merely smirked and took another shot of whisky.

Leon shook his head and ambled over to the pair.

"You realize that-" Leon did not get a chance to finish, as a wild eyed Irishman stormed out of the back and towards Virginia.

"THE FUCK YOU PLAYIN' AT GIRLIE? THINK ITS FUNNY TO SHOOT UP ME FUCKIN' BAR?!"

"Pssh you run a dump Moriarty."

"PAY FOR ME DAMAGES OR I'LL HAVE TO GET WICKED MEAN WITH YE GIRILIE!"

Virginia began to reload her pistol before spinning the barrel and aiming it at Moriarty's head. He had drawn a magnum at his hip and pointed it at her.

Leon sighed and pushed Virginia's revolver down, much to her annoyance. He turned to Moriarty and began to haggle over the price of the glasses.

As if by magic, Moriarty holstered his magnum and talked shop with Leon.

Virginia scoffed at the man's greed and holstered her own revolver, before grabbing Vincent by the shoulder.

"Come on you lug, you can stay with me tonight."

Vincent grinned happily as Virginia dragged him out of the bar.

Lazarus raised an eyebrow as Vincent passed him, but all Vincent did in reply was wink. The pair left the bar, allowing Leon to clean up their mess.

Virginia dragged Vincent in through the door to the General store and into her bedroom on the ground floor.

Maybe Vincent could get used to sleeping with women who aimed guns at his head.


	4. Breakfast at Moira's

Several hours later, after several rounds of the wildest sex Vincent had had in years, the two lovers lay down side by side, quietly talking amongst themselves. Vincent had told Virginia about the Note he found on the Regulators, the one about the bounties. She confirmed for him that people willing to do the work could find caps readily available. The work however, was wickedly dangerous and very few waste landers ever completed their jobs.

She tacked her survival up to practice and discipline. Leon may have been a money manager, bargainer and decent shot, but he lacked the skill at arms that Virginia had. Even better than her gun slinging skills were Virginia's lock-picking skills.

Vincent was amazed by this. Lock picking was not one of his skills. He left any locks or chests to Lazarus, who had great tactile senses. Virginia had learned from her father, who learned from his father, and so on and so forth. They fell asleep in each other's arms, both happily lost in shapeless dreams.

The morning came too soon, and brought with it a new burden: the door burst open to reveal a chipper Leon.

Vincent made sure his Sergeant was well hidden despite Virginia's pulling the sheets up to cover her perky breasts. The last thing he needed was to flash the close companion of his bedmate. Mornings like this were awkward enough.

"Good morning love birds!"

"FUCK OFF LEON!" Ginny was more exasperated than truly pissed. Vincent merely nodded at Leon.

In this light Vincent got a much better look at Virginia's partner: He was a little bit shorter than Vincent, but lean. He had a toned body that his apparel clung to. Jet black hair messily stuck up in every direction on his head, and his light blue eyes glimmered with the mischief of a younger brother who was finally entering adulthood after spending years as a child.

"I payed for six lowballs, a bottle of whisky, and breakfast." He motioned to the outside room in a sweeping gesture. "So would it be _too_ much to ask for a good morning?"

Virginia groaned and told her partner she'd be in momentarily. Leon smirked at her before winking at Vincent and closing the door.

Vincent never typically spent a long period of time with his conquests the following morning, but after last night he doubted that he had been the winner in their bed games. Virginia was a pretty kinky woman, and Vincent had been drunk enough to try some interesting things…

Vincent broke his embarrassing memories with idle banter. "He's a load of fun."

Virginia chuckled as she moved to put on her clothing, which were a set of under garments and leather armor pieces.

Vincent got up, unashamed of his nakedness and put on his clothes.

_*Thwack*_

Vincent yipped in a most unmanly manner, clutching his ass as Virginia merely chuckled and continued to get dressed. He dressed faster than normal and followed Virginia out into them main room for breakfast.

Leon sat at a table by himself, chowing down on a box of Sugar Bombs and a glass of purified water. Two other places were set for Ginny and Vincent, plates filled with steaming bacon and eggs.

"Awww Leon! Ant eggs and Molerat Bacon? Your crimes are forgiven." Ginny deadpanned.

Leon merely grinned and went back to consuming his food. The three young adults quietly had their breakfasts with little more than small talks penetrating the silence.

Vincent, after a night of thinking it over proposed his idea to Leon and Virginia.

"Leon, how much does Moira pay you both for your work?"

Leon snorted. "Not fucking enough. We get two hundred caps a month apiece."

Vincent studied Leon for several seconds.

"Vincent, why are you staring at Leon?" Ginny asked.

"Leon, are you telling me that making 200 caps a month is not enough?" Vincent's voice was steely, a mixture of shock and disdain.

Leon nodded. "Scavengers in the Metro can make that over a dozen times, and that doesn't even scratch the bounties groups like the Regulators or the Brotherhood put out there. Moira makes more than three thousand caps _a week_."

Vincent was dumbfounded. **Three thousand caps**?! You could live like a King with that kind of money up north.

"Virginia," Vincent said starting again. "Last night you told me that it was easy to find work in the Capital Wasteland. That there were a ton of individuals who had mountains of caps to throw at their problems."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I did, but what's your point?" She gave him a quizzical look.

"Ever considered going into the Mercenary business?" Vincent grinned at her. Virginia's eyes widened, while Leon actually did a double take.

Leon spoke up. "Mercenary work?! Like hunting down Ferals and Raider gangs? Are you fucking nuts?!"

"Lazarus may think so at times, but those two beasties have nothing on a Deathclaw."

"You've fought a Deathclaw?! Bullshit!"

"Yep. Lazarus and I took out a nest in Delaware."

Virginia's jaw dropped even further. "Death_claws_?!"

Vincent nodded. "Tough bitches to kill, but they really make you appreciate fighting off raider gangs and feral ghouls."

Leon raised another point."Vincent, there are only two Mercenary groups in the Capital Wasteland: Talon Company and a smaller outfit in the DC Metro called Reilly's Rangers. The Rangers are specialists who focus on super mutants and other commission based jobs. Talon Company is a massive organization with hundreds of members. Even if we formed a company like you are suggesting, how the hell would stack up against those groups?"

Vincent's eyes flashed their hard steel for a moment, and Leon instinctively looked downwards.

"By being better than either of them. Think about it, The Rangers are stuck in the DC Metro where only the rich and well-guarded can reach them. Talon Company are ruthless thugs who don't care about ordinary waste landers. Think about everyone else! Canterbury Commons is swimming in caps through their Caravans. Megaton is a major trade stop and safe haven. Rivet City, from everything Virginia has told me, is as close to pre-war society as is possible in this wasteland. These places are _filled_ with individuals who have goals and ambitions and dreams. Often times those dreams need skilled hands to fulfill them. We could be that group!" Vincent was winning them over, slowly but surely it seemed. Virginia was exuberant at the idea. She was definitely the wild child of the pair. Leon was far more cautious.

Leon seemed more skeptical than Virginia did. "Between the three of us we've got what? Combat skills, lock-picking skills, and some negotiating skills? That is hardly enough to make us profitable in the wasteland!"

Vincent shook his head. "We'll make a trip to Rivet City to scout for more talent. We are going to need a strong, diverse crew if we want to be up for any challenge."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yes _we_ you twit. If I'm going on this adventure, than so are you!" Ginny interjected.

"What?! Oh hell no. You are not dragging me into this madness!"

"Think about it Leon: This is our opportunity to make more money than we are already!"

Vincent saw his opening. "Your partner is correct. This will mean more money for you and _your family_."

Vincent could see Leon's resolve breaking. He closed his eyes for several seconds.

After a pregnant pause: "When are we leaving?" Leon said.

Vincent and Ginny grinned at each other.


	5. Of Trolls and Tolls

Vincent had informed Lazarus of their plans that day. His mentor, ever helpful in molding Vincent's worldview and wisdom, told him that he was a "fucking idiot" and asked what he could do to help.

Vincent told him that he, Virginia and Leon were going to depart for Rivet City that afternoon in order to gather supplies and see how many people they could recruit. Vincent needed Lazarus to do the same in Megaton. Namely, recruiting and fielding candidates.

Lazarus acquiesced and gave Vincent his blessing. Vincent thanked him, but honestly felt sad having to leave his mentor in town. It was a small sacrifice however. Ginny was a wicked fighter, and Leon had some contacts in Rivet City that they could utilize. Besides, Lazarus ran with a mercenary group in the ruins of New York in his formative years so he was bound to have some experience on the matter.

It was one of five facts Vincent knew about Lazarus in his life pre-Vincent.

So that evening, armed and armored, the group set off southwards for Rivet City.

Everyone had a different style, or at least it seemed that way to the perceptive Vincent:

He was decked out in his armor and duster, with his Combat Shotgun on his back, his pistol on his hip, his knife in his boot. He had no headwear or glasses on.

Virginia wore her leather armor with a pair of dark sunglasses to keep the sun out of her eyes. She had her revolver on one hip, and a 10mm SMG on the other. Her Combat knife was at the small of her back. She was the most conservatively dressed of the bunch.

Leon was by far the flashiest dresser, wearing a black leather waistcoat that showed considerable wear and tear. At his neck was some combination between a Gorget and a scarf, and the sleeves of the coat were torn off. Thin silver wire that was woven onto the shoulders of his jacket was also woven into the bracer-gloves on his wrists/hands. Several pre-war medals were stitched into the left breast, and the torn jeans that made up Leon's pants had leather sewn into the missing areas. Thin silver chains, tarnished with age were wrapped around his black combat boots.

Strapped to his back was a Chinese Assault Rifle, at his left hip was N99 Pistol, and his combat knife was sheathed into his right breast. He had a pair of fashionable glasses over his eyes. He looked both ridiculous and killer at once.

Never mind the outfit, Vincent was jealous as hell that Leon had a Chinese Assault Rifle. Leon was equally jealous of Vincent's Duster. Virginia told them to either shut up and walk or fulfill her lusty man-on-man fantasies.

Both men recoiled in mock horror and joined her in marching through the wastes.

Vincent was amazed at how on point the group was. While he agreed they had social chemistry, he doubted they would work so well as a team, but all it took was a pack of wild dogs to prove him wrong.

Two dogs ran towards Leon who calmly put them down with precise shots from his Assault Rifle.

Another lunged at Vincent, who blew it away with his shotgun.

The final dog had tackled Ginny to the ground. Thinking fast, she rammed her armored forearm into the dog's mouth. The dog, momentarily gagged by the leather, was unable to react to Ginny driving her knife into the dog's chest. With a slight twist, the dog jerked and fell over, very much dead.

She shrugged the dog off and checked for injuries: Blessedly, she just had a few scratches in her armor.

That didn't stop Leon from freaking out and forcing her to sit down while he evaluated her safety.

"Piss off Leon, I'm fine!" Ginny whined. For a ridiculously strong woman, she acted childish at the oddest of times.

"Quit your bitching, the last thing I need is for you to get infected from feral dog slobber." He turned her arm over, nodding at the lack of wounds.

"We need to keep moving." Vincent knew from experience that the best way to avoid accidents in the Wasteland was to be in a state of continuous motion. Fights attracted scavengers and other predators. The last thing they needed was to get cornered by anything too tough for their group to take down.

The trio pressed onwards, coming into view of another metro on their side of the river.

Ginny pointed to the skyline. "That is Arlington. It's more or less as dangerous as the DC Metro, but there are several settlements surrounding it."

"All right, anywhere we can bunk down when the lights go down?" Vincent inquired.

Leon shook his head no. "No really. There is Grayditch, but we'd have to go out of the way to get to it. We can make it to Rivet City with no incidents if we keep going."

With that the trio pressed onwards, dealing with no enemies until they arrived at a crossroads by the river.

Vincent heard the whirring of the Mini-gun well before the others and had motioned for both Ginny and Leon to get down.

The three ducked behind a pile of rubble, with Vincent surveying the chaos before them:

A band of raiders on the DC side of the Potomac were firing at three burly green mutants on the Arlington side of the River. The raiders were maybe fifteen in number, and all were equipped with basic small arms.

The mutants in contrast were wielding assault rifles and a Mini-gun.

Vincent did not need an education to know that the scales were tipped against the raiders.

"What do we do?" Leon asked.

"We can take 'em." Ginny said, withdrawing and cocking her revolver.

"Fuck that, we don't have nearly enough ammo for three mutants."

Vincent peered around the rubble. Several blocks away was a small canal with a tin shack. A glimmer of light made Vincent instinctively duck.

His instincts saved him, as a sniper's round glanced off of the top of the rubble.

One of the mutants turned away from the fight and began making his way towards the gunshot. As luck would have it, it was the Mini-gun wielder.

"God damn it!" Leon hissed as the Mutant began to walk towards their rubble. What do we do _now_?!"

"Everyone up on three, move in different directions and we'll hit him from different angles. I'll draw his fire left, you two go right to the bus stop." Vincent was in full tactical mode now.

The others nodded and checked their weapons.

"Three… Two… One… NOW!" Vincent shouted.

All three adventurers stood up at once and fired on the mutant before rolling left and right. The mutant was hit with shotgun shells, 5.56 rounds, and .357 bullets at once, dazing it. It began to fire up the Mini-gun when a loud crack was heard and the mutant's leg exploded in a spray of gore. Vincent took the opportunity to run up to the mutant and smash the butt of his shotgun into the mutants face.

Purple blood splattered outwards and the mutant groaned, falling backwards attempting to grab onto Vincent in the process.

Vincent dodged the clumsy grab and put his shotgun right into the face of the mutant and fired.

The mutant's head exploded outwards onto the ground, bits of brain matter strewn in a wave around the remains of its head.

The raiders had managed to down one of the mutants, and the other was too engaged with the Raiders to notice he downed comrade. Vincent looked down the road to see a figure waving at him. He motioned for the group to follow him, everyone quietly taking their time to move towards the canal.

Upon arrival they were greeted with an elderly woman garbed in tattered wasteland clothes, wielding a beautifully up kept sniper rifle.

"Greetin's children. Whats a bringin' you down to see Old Grandma Sparkle?" The older woman asked.

"You realize you almost took my head off right?" Vincent snarked.

Sparkle snorted. "You realize you made me waste a precious bullet, eh boy?"

Ginny snickered, and Leon handed sparkle a small pouch.

"Aww thank ya dearie. Toll's been paid, go right on through!"

As the trio walked past the deranged older woman, Vincent questioned Leon about what had just happened.

"Some heads up would have been nice."

"Last time I came through here she didn't have a sniper rifle. Shit happens man."

Vincent grumbled and continued on with his comrades, the sounds of gunfire growing softer in their wake.


	6. The Passage

After two uneventful days on following along the Potomac, The trio came upon the Washington Memorial Bridge, which held significance for some reason.

Virginia scolded his ignorance. "You dumbass, the bridge is the physical border between the unclaimed area of the Arlington/Potomac strip and the Brotherhood territory. Now we can walk twenty feet without having to deal with any bullshit encounters."

"Brotherhood, as in the Brotherhood of Steel?" Vincent inquired.

Virginia and Leon actually stopped walking and turned to face Vincent, their faces incredulous.

"No, the Brotherhood of Tin." Leon deadpanned. He tried to chuckle at his own joke, but after seeing Vincent's face he stopped laughing.

Vincent had gone ashen pale, his eyes frozen in place. He trembled lightly.

Virginia moved towards him and held his shoulders. "Vincent, what's wrong? What happened?"

Vincent didn't hear her. Instead he saw…

…_Smoke stacks. Bloody hand prints. Screams in the fiery night. Rattles of gunfire. Steel giants ambling down streets, firing off red death at anything that moved. The churning and grinding of the mills didn't stop for the workers, and it didn't stop for the giants either. They broke into houses, destroyed shacks with grenades. They burned entire blocks to the ground. So much screaming. He remembered hiding in an alley. Then the walls shook and the sky fell. It was dark for so long before he heard the clawing and had to run. The teeth were following him, chasing him. He never stopped running. Not until…_

"VINCENT!" _*thwack* _

Virginia had smacked him in the face. He would never admit that it hurt, but holy mother of god could that girl throw a punch. He snapped out of his memories and faced Leon and Virginia.

"I'm… sorry." Vincent managed to squeak out.

"What in the living fuck was that?" Virginia demanded from him.

"Nothing. We need to keep moving."

Virginia held a hand to his chest and stopped him from moving.

"Look, I care about you, but beyond that I need to know if you are okay moving forward. I won't have you getting us killed when you shut down like that. Am I clear?"

"I'm fine, it was nothing, and I could still take a dozen raiders without even thinking about it."

Ginny scoffed, but more color returned to her face.

"Good, now let's press on. We need to pass the checkpoint at the Citadel before we can board the passage to Rivet City."

"You take a ship to get to Rivet City?" Vincent asked, stunned at the extravagance of such a thought.

"Well… Ship is overstating it considerably-"Leon began to speak before Ginny cut him off.

"It's a small boat. Ever since the muties fortified several outposts surrounding the Jefferson Memorial the land route into Rivet City has become nearly impassable. Now the only real way there is to take the ferry by the Citadel."

"All right, let's go then. I'm looking forward to eating something hot for a change."

Ginny nodded and the group took off towards the Citadel.

After dealing with a handful of raiders under the Washington Bridge, the trio arrived at the front gates of the Citadel. Vincent steeled himself and reined in his memories, not allowing himself to break down again when he saw the Paladins. That was a long time ago, and he didn't feel the need to dwell on the past.

At the entrance to the Citadel were three Paladins, a malfunctioning sentry bot, and two scribes who were working on the robot.

The Paladin on lookout tensed up as the trio approached the Citadel. "Halt! State your business or prepare for termination!" The Paladin readied a vicious Gatling weapon at the group.

Another Paladin snorted. "Stupid waste landers. Thinking they can walk where they like." He spat at their feet, a feat made possible by his lack of helmet.

Surprisingly one of the Scribes beat them to the punch.

"Lay off them Bael!" The unlikely defender of the trio turned out to be a skinny, solemn young man who had turned away from working on the robot and towards the obnoxious Paladin.

"Get back to work Caceres! I don't need you lecturing me!"

The young Scribe was unfazed. "Bael, the fact that you have been continuously posted at this door for the last two months should be a stark reminder of where you fall on the hierarchy. If you challenge me again, I will have you cleaning toilets in the dorms with the_ knights._ Have I made myself clear?" The young Scribe put an emphasis on the word Knights, the significance of which was lost to Vincent, although he had noticed it.

The Paladin Bael backed off, grumbling to himself the whole time. The young scribe turned to the trio.

"Welcome to the Citadel, I assume you are en route to Rivet City?"

"Yes Scribe Caceres." Vincent answered humbly, not wanting to risk the wrath of the smaller man.

The Scribe nodded before turning to face Leon. His face changed from solemn to surprised for a fraction of a second, before he shouted out.

"LEON SFORZA! How have you been my old friend?" Scribe Caceres looked pleased to see Leon.

Leon rubbed the back of his neck and stepped forward. "I've been doing okay Teo, just working out of Megaton for a few months now. How are your studies on the robots going?"

"YOU ARE NOT TO ADDRESS THE SCRIBE BY HIS FIRST NAME OUTSIDER!" Bael roared. Teo turned and shot Bael a withering look before turning back to Leon.

"Oh very good Leon! I've almost completely replicated the blueprints for Protectron robots. If the brotherhood can gather enough materials, we can begin producing them! They will do the settlers of the Wasteland so much good, especially when they are not easy to come across as it stands."

Bael scoffed. "Elder Lyons has forbidden outsiders be given technology Scribe Caceres."

The Scribe narrowed his eyes at Bael. "Toilets." He repeated sharply. Bael looked back down to the ground, silenced by a boy ten years younger than him.

Vincent had to suppress a laugh, but both Leon and Virginia were giggling incessantly.

Teo turned back to the Trio. "I believe the ferry will be here momentarily, but I encourage you to be back to this side of the river in three days' time."

Leon perked up. He was working over what Teo had said before his face lit up with recognition. "The Duchess Gambit is back?!"

Teo nodded. "At least she will be in three days' time. Here for a week before she and her captain cast off for Point Lookout. You never know what Tobar will have in supply this time. If nothing else you can get more Punga fruit."

Vincent cast a questioning glance to Ginny, but she gave him a reassuring pat that said 'I'll explain everything to you later.'

Vincent nodded and glanced back towards Teo and Leon.

"So, what brings you back to Rivet City Leon?"

"Well Teo, this blonde Cabrón has gotten us into an adventure." Leon looked over at Vincent, wagging his eyebrows. Vincent chuckled and playfully shoved him.

Teo grinned at the pair. "Si? Well don't get him killed Blondie. Leon has been instrumental in forging relations between The Citadel and Rivet City. Ahh, the ferry is in sight! You had best be on your way Leon. Best of luck in Rivet City my friends!"

"Take care Teo. And try not to kill Paladin Bael. He is _truly_ an _**ass**__et_ to the Brotherhood." Leon stuck his tongue out at Bael, who looked about ready to beat the living fuck out of Leon's face.

Teo merely chuckled. "He's on a short leash."

The Trio laughed and went on their way, The Rivet City Ferry in sight.

The ferry was indeed a small boat, captained by a bored looking guard in security armor. A Mister Gutsy Robot and another Rivet City Guard collected tickets from Passengers as they boarded the boat.

Virginia and Vincent paid for their tickets and boarded the ferry.

All in all, there were only four other passengers besides the Trio: A caravan merchant and his bodyguard; an older mercenary in mismatched leathers, and a young woman with short, spiky hair.

The entire ship was silent on the passage over, and the sun was setting, casting a haunting look on the DC skyline.

Vincent had seen the New York skyline before, and while it was a devastating sight, this view was far more unsettling. At least in NY you could count on the never ending sounds of gunfire to keep you alert.

The DC Metro was quiet though, save for the occasional explosion every few minutes. Even those sounded far off in the distance.

*Thump*

The Ferry Rocked as it struck something. The Sentry sighed and unholstered her assault rifle. The Gutsy robot's pilot light came on its flamer appendage. Leon nodded towards the opposite side of the boat.

The Ferry stopped momentarily, long enough for a massive claw to drape itself over the side of the Ferry.

Vincent reached for his shotgun, but Virginia stopped him and nodded in the direction of the Gusty, which was now whirring angrily. It hovered closer to the claw.

A loud clicking signaled the Mirelurk raising its bulk up onto the boat. The Gutsy stopped and let out a prewar battle cry:

"ARE YOU READY TO BE CRISPY FRIED YOU SLIMY, PINKO SON-OF-A-BITCH?!"

The Mirelurk attempted to pull itself into the Ferry, but the Gusty let loose a massive torrent of flame. The Mirelurk shrieked as the flames licked it's claws. The Guard expertly shot four rounds into the singed Claw, forcing the Lurk to let go, bulk slipping back into the tidal basin.

The Gutsy, no longer detecting a threat, cheerfully moved back towards the front of the boat. It hummed a pre-war tune as it floated by the passengers.

Vincent spoke up first. "So, does that happen every time?"

Leon smirked. "Yep. You'd think those things would have learned by now, but nope. Moira is always going off on how smart these things are, but really they are dumber than some of the lobotomized Mole Rats she keeps around."

The young woman with the short hair snickered, while Leon winked at her. She simply raised an eyebrow at him, to which Vincent and Ginny laughed at_ him_.

The rest of the boat ride was uneventful, and soon enough they were docked at the base of Rivet City.

Vincent was at a loss for words.


	7. Jarhead

Rivet City was a gigantic _ship._

Vincent wasn't sure about the model, but it looked like someone pushed a skyscraper over and when it hit the ground it had cracked in half.

The Ferry docked at the base of a large metal structure on the landward side of Rivet City. It was three, maybe four stories tall and was according to Ginny the necessary checkpoint for entering Rivet City. Of course, Rivet city was nearly a dozen stories tall.

The passengers exited the Ferry and were escorted through the building. A queue was already forming for the departing passengers. Vincent noted that this anterior building was staffed with more Security guards. There had to be three guards for every one passenger. The ship's passengers moved up a metal ramp, ascending multiple floors until they reached the top.

The topmost floor was… empty. No desks, cabinets or other pieces of furniture were strewn about, as opposed to the other floors which had makeshift offices and living quarters. The only item of note was an intercom attached to an upright metal girder at the edge of the roof.

The Guard who escorted them began to speak into the intercom. "Gannick to Bridge Control, Shepard has a flock requesting permission to enter. Requesting Access, over."

"This is Bridge Control, Access granted Docking Control." The Intercom shouted back.

A loud metallic groaning signaled a bridge swinging outwards towards the Docking Tower. As it connected and attached to the Docking Tower, Gannick turned back to the "flock" and addressed them.

"Palmer is going to give you the run down when you get across the bridge. Stay off the edges and don't start any shit while you are here. Enjoy your stay in Rivet City." Gannick finished unenthusiastically.

"Jar is on duty right now? Oh god damn it." Leon groaned.

Vincent shot him an eyebrow, but Gannick merely grinned at the exasperated boy. "Like I said, enjoy your stay."

The Trio made their way across the bridge, with the other passengers trailing behind them.

They were greeted at the entrance by two Security Guards in head to toe armor, and a third officer stood in between them. He was stacked.

Vincent knew he couldn't be more than 6'4, but the Officer was huge. He was probably over two hundred pounds of muscle and bone, and if looked about as friendly as a pissed off Yao Guai.

The Officer began to address the visitors in a basso, thundering voice:

"Welcome to Rivet City. My name is First Lieutenant Jaroslav Palmer. Some quick rules that will prevent me from having to kick your asses during your stay: Numero Uno: Don't steal anything. This isn't some free for all bullshit like you kids have out in the wasteland. You take something that isn't yours, we will investigate and we will make you return it. The condition you find yourself in afterwards will depend on how you act. Nummer Zwei: Don't bother the workers. People have shit to get done, and the last thing I need is Dr. Li complaining about some nosy pricks who couldn't keep to themselves. Number Three: Don't start any shit. I don't care if it is a bar fight in the Muddy Rudder or a fucking duel on the flight deck. If you start something, we will end it. And if it isn't Danvers, Harkness, or myself ending it you can count yourself severely _blessed_. Do I make myself clear?"

The group nodded and murmured their assent to Palmer who carried on.

"Good, now assuming you don't do anything stupid, enjoy your stay and the many amenities that Rivet City has to offer. Chems are legal so long as you aren't peddling to kids, and there are some "comfort" women down in the bar on the sub-basement. The marketplace is straight ahead, while if you need to get anywhere else use the door behind me on the left."

The waste landers began to move single file through the walkway. For the first time Vincent noticed Leon keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous as possible.

The mousy girl in front of him walked past Palmer with no issue. His eyes remained glassy and focused on the DC Skyline.

Leon moved forward and was a foot past Palmer when the burly guard grabbed Leon by the scruff of the neck and smashed him up against the side of ship.

Vincent had his hand on his hip, but Virginia stopped him. Both of the other Security Guards had their guns leveled on the pair.

Leon and Palmer had their eyes locked onto each other.

"Sforza." Palmer snarled.

Leon gulped. "Good to see you too Officer Palmer. Have you been working out, cos you lo-"

"Cut the bullshit. Your tab has gone unpaid. Henry Young doesn't want you within five feet of his wife. Cindy Cantelli and Vera Weatherly have been _pining_ for you to come back. Dr. Li needs both of her assistants for her Hydroponics project, so do your best to _not_ screw them as well. Angela Staley is married to Diego now, and you had best not start anything _there_. I will _personally_ throw you over the **god damned railing if you do." **Palmer practically spat out the last sentence.

Ginny merely sighed. Palmer cast a glance towards her. Loosening his grip of the rakish boy, he turned to Vincent and Virginia. "You two will keep this little bastard out of causing me trouble, or I will have you thrown out with him."

Palmer opened the side door not leading to the market place and abruptly slammed it shut.

Leon picked himself up off of the floor, rubbing at his bruised throat in the process.

"Asshole."

Vincent grinned at him. "Exactly how many girls did you fuck on this ship?"

"Lost track after thirty. It was his daughter that really got him set against me."

"What? Were you two dating?" Ginny merely shook her head and sighed, knowing the end of the story.

"Nope. She was to be married to some asshole in Maintenance. I visited her before her wedding night and slipped in my present to the Bride. It was going pretty well until Jar came to investigate. Nice catholic family like that doesn't take too kindly to strangers deflowering their daughters. I still have the scars from the beating he gave me."

Vincent didn't really have words for that. Ginny scoffed and rubbed her temples. "No shit sherlock. Anyone on this ship you _didn't_ have sex with?"

"Uh let's see here… Oh right, your crazy ass for starters!" To add insult to injury, Leon stuck his tongue out at Virginia.

Vincent shook his head. It was amazing that these two weren't already siblings, but their relationship kind of made sense. Leon grew up with nothing but sisters and when he left Rivet City he had absolutely no family out in the wastes. After pairing up with Virginia in Megaton it must have been like having a piece of his family back. Vincent remembered his family…

Not here. No not here.

"All right, we are here. Now who exactly do you know that we can recruit?"

"Well I am sure Mirza will want to come along for this ride. We might be able to get Ted to join up too. Hell, maybe even that asshole Harkness can recommend some guys for us. If not him Danvers can lend a hand. Of the three she is by far the most sociable."

"Okay, here is the plan: You and I will go talk to Mirza while Ginny goes over the supply list and picks up any of the little things we will need for the company. At 7:30 we will meet at the Muddy Rudder."

Ginny nodded and gave Vincent a peck on the lips. "Try not to get keelhauled. But if you do, try to leave me out of it."

Vincent chuckled. "Will do sweetheart."

Ginny winked at him and walked towards the marketplace. Leon gave Vincent a sinister smile. "What are your intentions towards my honorary sister?" He asked in an air of mock gravity.

"Lustful. Now let's go."

"Aye, aye Captain." Leon replied mockingly.


	8. The Lab and the Lass

Vincent had to rein in his wonder at Rivet City. The ship was organized, well kept, and most importantly safe. Vincent hadn't felt the need to brandish his weapon since he and his compatriots had arrived.

It spooked him to no end.

Out in the wasteland being on your toes twenty-four seven was a necessity, especially up north where things were utterly vicious.

But here in Rivet City Vincent was not obliged to keep his guard up. He had no reason to be on edge and ready to draw his weapon in a flash. It may have been emotionally comforting, but his instincts were simply not used to lowering his guard.

Attempting to dissuade himself, Vincent engaged Leon in small talk.

"What can you tell me about your friend?"

"Mirza? He's a crazy guy. We grew up together on the ship. His parents are part of the maintenance crew, but that didn't stop him from working his way up the social ladder. We played a lot together as kids. He's a genius, but I don't know how well he'd hold up in a firefight."

"Being able to shoot a gun is a must if he's joining a Mercenary Company. If he can't do that, why are we recruiting him?"

"He's a wizard with electronics. And you were the one spouting off diversity a few days ago."

Vincent sighed. Leon, for all of his intelligence could be thick at times. "I meant not having a team of knuckle dragging thugs. I did not mean picking up every kid in the wasteland with no balls had half a skillset. It's just not practical."

"Hey now, Mirza isn't a pussy. The kid grew up with me remember? He's got some fighting chops. He's just not going to best Ginny anytime soon. Hell, I probably can't best Ginny."

The two rounded a corner and found themselves facing an open doorway. Inside was a massive open space filled with generators, work stations, and electronic equipment.

"This is the Rivet City Science Lab. It's the stomping grounds of Dr. Madison Li. It was also the last place Mirza was working when I was here three months ago."

"She one of the players here in Rivet City?" Vincent fished.

"You could say that. She's on the Rivet City council, which is the ruling body of the ship. Honestly, it's mostly just for show. This ship kind of runs itself, with the guards keeping out troublemakers, the maintenance crews patch up anything that breaks and the merchants bring in the dough. Her council position notwithstanding she's probably one of the smartest people I've ever seen. She does work for the ship, but she's a raging bitch."

Vincent nodded, absorbing the information as the two proceeded into the lab. They would find Mirza and try to talk to him without stepping on the toes of Dr. Li, who at the very least had the authority to get them thrown out.

Vincent had heard stories of science labs from various waste landers and from Lazarus. He didn't explain how he knew about them, but merely replied that he'd seen some things in his lifetime. Vincent didn't pursue it at the time, because he didn't feel comfortable unearthing his own past, let alone Lazarus's past life.

Still, the descriptions of laboratories paled in comparison to the real thing. Glowing computer monitors were being typed on by eager looking scientists garbed in starched white lab coats. Strange, vibrant plants hung from a large trellis in the center of the room, their extensive root systems stretching towards a pool of the clearest water Vincent had ever seen in his life.

For all of the scurrying the scientists did between work stations and equipment, the room was eerily quiet, with only the hushed whispers of the scientists being audible to Vincent's trained ears.

Leon scanned the room for several long seconds before spotting Mirza. He moved along the catwalk which connected their entrance to the ground floor of the lab, keeping quiet until he was standing right above Mirza. Leon leaned over the railing and whispered to a younger scientist in a lab coat. The young man as busily typing at a computer and did not notice Leon.

Leon whispered again. "Pssst Mirza!" Mirza did not hear him, or possibly Mirza did not reply.

Leon sighed. He half-whispered, half shouted and his friend. "Mirza! Come on up here!"

Mirza stopped typing, his eyes not once leaving his computer. Some of his coworkers had stopped what they were doing to stare up at the strange young men who were talking to their young colleague. Mirza let out an audible sigh and moved away from his computer and towards the ramp that led up to the catwalk. He climbed the ramp and moved towards Vincent and Leon with an apprehensive look on his face.

Mirza was several hairs shorter than Vincent and of a very different look: He had a darker complexion with midnight black hair styled into a pompadour on his head. Large, bright brown eyes were set behind a pair of black glasses. He had two days of stubble growing on his face, and an aquiline nose that turned what would have been an ordinary face handsome. His frown helped negate that handsomeness.

Leon went to embrace him with open arms. "Mirza my friend!"

*THWACK*Mirza smacked Leon in the face.

"Ow fuck!" Leon managed to get out before Mirza punched him in the stomach.

Quietly, Mirza leaned over to the now doubled over Leon and began to talk. "My sister got pregnant. ._fuck were you thinking_?!"

Panting, Leon moved to get up. "I wasn't! I was young and stupid at the time-"

*BAM*

Mirza full on _clocked_ Leon in the jaw. Vincent knew he'd intervene soon, but he was still amazed at how much trouble Leon could get himself into.

Blood dribbling down his chin, Leon moved to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't know about Alia. If I did I would have come home and done the honorable thing."

Mirza looked at Leon incredulously. "I think my mother would have a stroke if that were to happen. But as it is you missed your chance: Alia ran off with one of the Caravan merchants. I think it was the gun dealer, but I'm not sure." He shrugged noncommittally.

Vincent cleared his throat. Mirza turned to look at him. "Yes?"

Vincent extended his hand and put on an award winning smile. "I'm Vincent Kayser, and I don't need to introduce my jackass friend here."

"Would that you could have introduced me to him for the first time instead. He's a dick."

Leon moved to defend himself but Vincent put a hand on his shoulder and grasped it hard. _Don't even think about it._

"Regardless of Leon's past transgressions, he has proven himself an entirely different man. Why, he even paid my bar tab several nights ago."

Mirza raised his eyebrows in utter shock and turned to Leon. "No shit?"

Leon nodded in quiet agreement.

Mirza turned back to Vincent. "All right, well what the hell do you want with me?"

"I want to offer you ridiculous amounts of money, job security and a chance to play with some fun toys. Interested?"

"Ahh, so do you take me to the flight deck and mug me there or is this one of those robberies that happens when we get out of sight of Rivet City?"

Leon spoke up. "He's good for it Mirza. We're starting up a Mercenary Company."

Mirza scoffed. "Wow, of all the dumbass ideas… A merc band? Shit Leon, that's crazy even for you."

"Only crazy if you don't have to right talent. Leon's a decent shot, his partner up in Megaton is a crack shot and I'm even better. You wouldn't do too much of the grunt work. No we'd bring you on for more sensitive matters." Vincent held his ground.

"Oh really? Like what?" Mirza snorted.

"Firstly, tone down the attitude. We can have this conversation as gentlemen. Secondly, we need men of all stripes, not just kickass gunslingers. Not every operation needs to be carried out by the strongest men. If we need to break into a hideout, I would rather have a hacker to unlock the door rather than spending hundreds of caps on high powered explosives. Sensitive work." Vincent gave Mirza a level stare.

Mirza was actually listening to Vincent, but much like Leon three days earlier he was skeptical.

"There are not nearly as many terminals in the wasteland. You would only need someone like me for so many jobs."

"Not true. We would need an archivist to fill out logs. Someone with your intelligence would also go a long way in the field of medicine. We are looking for a proper doctor, but some minor medical experience could be invaluable in the field."

Mirza bit his lip. Vincent could tell he was winning him over.

"Not to mention the pay. How much does Dr. Li pay you?"

"140 caps a month."

Leon scoffed. "Bitch is even worse than Moira."

"But I'm in an entry position! Janice makes 400 caps a month!" Mirza tried to defend.

"Mirza, if you ran with us, I can guarantee you, you would be making far more than that within the first few months. Between the scavenging, bounties, and contract work we will be doing, we could be racking up thousands of caps a month. More than enough to see you comfortably paid."

Mirza's eyes widened at the thought.

"But… what about the dangers. The wasteland is not a forgiving place. I could die!"

Vincent shook his head. "It may be a possibility, but I can't honestly say that it will happen. Even beyond the rest of the team backing you up, we will be constantly training. Marksmanship, hand to hand combat, basic first aid. All you really need to focus on doing is following your orders and doing what comes naturally to you." Vincent smiled.

"Over four hundred caps a month you say?" Mirza asked.

Vincent smile grew. He had him.

Vincent, Leon and Mirza traveled back towards the front of Rivet City, where Leon peeled off to go see his family. Vincent told Mirza that he had to pick up his friend from the bar and see what their next plan of action was. Mirza looked uneasy, but nodded.

As Vincent and Mirza descended the stairwell leading to the bar, they could hear rancorous cheers and whistles coming from below. He had only left Ginny alone for an hour, and he shuddered to think about what kind of chaos she had gotten herself into.

Vincent stepped into the bar where a large crowd was gathered around a table in the center of the room. Ginny, shockingly enough, was standing off to the side smoking a cigarette. She smiled when she saw him and motioned him to come over. Vincent and the still hesitant Mirza moved towards Ginny, interested to see what the spectacle was. It turned out to be very interesting.

A large man with a shaved head was currently arm wrestling the young girl from the boat. The guy was pretty big, and she was small even for a young adult. Vincent pegged her as being no more than 18, no more than 130 pounds, and no more than 5'6, if that.

The guy was at least twice her height and weight and maybe a few years older than Vincent, although he showed signs of hard living.

How on earth the girl was winning was beyond Vincent.

The neck muscles in the larger man began to bulge, while the girl merely narrowed her eyes and focused on wrestling the man's arm onto the table. She breathed in deep, her eyes went narrow. With a primal growl she smashed the larger man's arm into table without her elbow leaving the same surface. The crowd cheered despite the majority of them losing money. The scraggly mercenary was collecting bets from the losers, who were camped firmly in the majority of the patrons.

The large man growled at her and sulked off to the bar, ordering a beer with some truly colorful language. The girl sat back in her chair and sighed. The Scraggly merc set a glass of Whisky in front of her, which she downed it one go.

Ginny smiled before turning back to Vincent and acknowledging Mirza for the first time. They introduced each other and got to talking shop. "Tomorrow we need to do some serious shopping for goods. I did some scouting today but honestly I couldn't find half of the things we needed."

Vincent shook his head. "If they don't have it here where would they have it?"

Ginny pondered that for a moment. She couldn't think of any major settlement in the wasteland that might have what they needed that they hadn't already visited. Well she knew of one…

"There is one place… but I'm not sure if it is the best place to go…"

"All right, where is it?"

"We would need to take Chevy Chase-"She was cut off by some loud shouting going on by the bar. The sore loser was furious with losing to the young girl was screaming some obscenity at the older female bartender. The Bartender backed up and called for Brock- who Vincent assumed was the bouncer- who moved to restrain the man. The Sore Loser grabbed Brock by the neck and threw him against the wall. With a vicious kick to the man's chest, the Loser turned around and scanned the room for the girl. When he spotted her walking away from the bar towards the exit he barreled after her.

Vincent watched the whole scene in slow motion: The man pushed the scraggly merc to the side and was maybe a foot behind the girl when she performed two circular heel kicks to the Loser's face, each in rapid succession. The large man had obviously taken a blow, for he stumbled backwards trying to regain his balance. In that second the girl had pounced on him, delivering a series of loud, sickening punches to the man's face. The man grabbed the girl by the waist and tossed her off but like a cat she nimbly landed on her feet, crouched low to the ground and eyes dangerously pointed at the loser.

Several other men had stood up and were stalking towards the girl.

Ginny made a move to get up from the booth, but Vincent steadied her: The last thing he needed was to get involved in something that could get him expelled.

Besides, the girl seemed to be holding her own.

A man threw a messy punch at the girl, who caught his fist and twisted his entire arm behind his back with a sickening crunch. The first man screamed in pain as the girl roughly pushed him at the second man, which knocked both of them to the floor.

The third and fourth men looked at each other, nodded, and rushed the girl at once.

The third man tried to grab the girl at her waist; the fourth man threw a haymaker at the girl's face; the girl simply disappeared.

The two men were left hitting at the air where the girl had been a second before. Vincent couldn't believe his eyes.

This bitch was _fast_. So much that it was almost impossible to believe, but she had actually managed to swing around the two men so that she was behind them. The third man, who the girl had passed, had caught on faster. He turned to face his back when she delivered a 1-2 punch to the man's stomach and face.

As he went down the girl did not hesitant delivering a particularly messy roundhouse kick to the face of the fourth man, whose neck actually snapped around at a grotesque angle.

Breathing heavily, the girl moved over to Vincent's booth, picked up the near empty bottle of whisky and Ginny's glass and emptied the contents into the lowball, taking a swig from the glass.

She paused for a moment before readjusting the grip on the neck of the bottle and whipped the bottle around, just in time to catch the fist of the Sore Loser whose face was a pulp and who roared as the bottle shattered against his fist. Twisting her arm back in the opposite direction, the girl swiped the broken bottle into the already ruined face of the bruiser. Then she threw the remainder of her drink into the man's face before ducking down and tackling him to the ground.

The man was howling in pain, disoriented by the alcohol and the dozens of cuts and scratches on his ruined face.

The girl stood up and put her foot on the man's neck, applying pressure.

"ENOUGH!" came a thundering voice as Palmer burst into the bar with three other officers.

The girl looked towards Palmer with a snarl on her face. Palmer merely raised her laser rifle at her head. "Don't try it girl. You may be good with those fists, but don't think you can dodge a laser."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. The room was thick with tension for a full minute before the girl removed her foot from the neck of the bruiser and walked back over to the bar.

The older bartender moved out from behind the bar. "She didn't start it officer's. She was minding her business when this fuck-" the older woman kicked the downed man in the side, causing him to whimper. "- and his friends came up and tried to have their way with her. They didn't really realize they'd be biting off more than they could chew though."

Mirza's eyes widened, and Vincent wasn't surprised that Mirza was unaware of bar fight etiquette. Regardless of how a bar fight actually went and who was at fault, you didn't fuck with the bartender. Or her bouncer, who was injecting a stimpack into his battered side.

Palmer looked at her skeptically, but waved at his officer's to collect the combatants. The large man was barely breathing, and the man whose neck the girl had broken with a kick was declared dead. The other three were escorted out of the bar.

Palmer turned back to the girl. "Rapist or not, Rivet City forbids murder on its property, although it has always been for more practical reasons than ethical. I'm afraid you'll have to be gone by morning. I am sorry." Palmer did sound sincere, regardless of whether or not he actually believed the bartender's lie.

The girl nodded before moving over the knocked out Mercenary who had been collecting bets earlier. She pocketed his cap pouch and whatever other valuables he had.

"Serves you right you fuck." She spat out at the downed man with venom.

Surprisingly enough to Vincent, she had an accent. It was an Irish one similar to the barman back at Megaton, Moriarty.

Except her voice was soft and light, and far higher in pitch than Moriarty's was. While the voice fit the girl's body, he never would have imagined that she would be able to take down five grown men with not a single scratch.

As Palmer and the others departed, Vincent approached the girl.

"What do I call you, Miss…?

"Siobhan. Siobhan Dunleavy. What's it to ya?"

Vincent simply flashed his smile. "How would you like a job?"

Siobhan raised her eyebrow at him, just as she had done to Leon several hours earlier.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Please review and rate! Your feedback is lovingly appreciated! :D


	9. A Modest Proposal

The next morning the group moved to depart Rivet City. Siobhan accepted her offer and told her handler he could go fuck himself. It turned out that she had met him en route to Rivet City and he had struck up a deal with her for rigging games of skill. Siobhan had always been a graceful fighter, and her time spent amongst the Order of Kells (The Irish equivalent of the Brotherhood of Steel) had only honed her natural skills as a fighter to those with deadly accuracy.)

After being expelled from the Order of Kells (for an action Siobhan had not cared to share) she boarded a ship bound for the United States. It had eventually docked at the Commonwealth after more than three months at sea.

From there Siobhan's story mirrored Vincent's own: She wandered the wastes, scavenging and moving southward towards the Capital Wasteland. She had a few close calls, especially with the mutants in the outer DC Metro. She came to Rivet City alone. She drank alone. She had fought alone.

Vincent had decided she would be alone no longer.

After Leon had returned to them after visiting his mother (whose condition had not improved he reported) Vincent said that they would have to leave Rivet City due to Siobhan's inadvertent killing of the idiot at the Muddy Rudder.

As they were leaving the marketplace they were stopped by a stern looking man lacking a helmet. Leon and Mirza immediately straightened up at the sight of the man, so Vincent deduced he was the one player he had yet to meet…

"Good morning Chief Harkness."

The Chief barely regarded Leon, but gave a slight nod to Mirza. Harkness addressed Vincent. "You are the leader of this so called mercenary group?"

Vincent appraised the Chief. He was well built and had maybe a decade on Vincent. Vincent wouldn't take the Chief lightly: Harkness was evaluating their entire group, and he had even sized up Vincent first.

"What's it to you?" Vincent replied.

Harkness sighed. "Normally I wouldn't even consider a measure such as this but… I'm between a rock and a hard place."

"What are you proposing Chief?" Leon spoke up.

"I need a few good men."

* * *

Harkness explained everything to Vincent and his group as they walked outside and waited for the bridge to extend.

"For the last few months Bannon and Dr. Li have been in talks with open trade with a nearby city, I'm sure you've heard of it: Underworld.

Ginny's eyes widened. "The ghoul city? Located in the Mall?"

Harkness nodded gravely. "The ghouls are among the best scavengers in the Metro ruins, because Ferals ignore them and Super Mutants don't actively hunt them like they do to humans. As such, Ghouls are able to avoid close to 80% of all enemies simply on their own. The ghouls of Underworld have amassed a fortune in spare parts and weaponry. Obviously they don't have anything the brotherhood may want, but they have plenty of other guns and even more importantly: ammunition. For all of their scavenging prowess however, they have easily fragile egos, especially when it comes to humans or a lack of proper respect."

"We have been speaking with the City's elders and after long arrangements were made they have agreed to trade with us."

"Which would be just fine if it hadn't been for the Raiders. A whole mess of them have set up shop in the Anacostia Metro and we've heard reports that another nest has been established in the Museum Station. The first caravan is scheduled to leave Underworld tomorrow afternoon. If they encounter heavy resistance from Human Raiders then they will call off the Expedition all together. Mirza, I don't have to tell you what this will do for Dr. Li's Hydroponics program." The young man, grasping the implications of failure nodded solemnly.

Having arrived at the landward tower, Vincent questioned Harkness. "What exactly is it that you want us to do?"

"Simply put, I need a team to go from Anacostia to the museum station and clear out all threats. Both stations are fairly isolated, so if you do one thorough sweep you shouldn't have to worry about anything else moving in for several days. Once you sweep the tunnels, meet with the Caravan at Underworld and escort them back here. If they can be convinced the route is safe then this arrangement will last."

"And when we aren't here to coddle them?"

"All we need is for them to get the trial Caravan through. They will beef up their security accordingly for all others, but now we cannot risk them seeing this as a bad investment."

"All right, we'll take it. How much?" Vincent closed.

Harkness stared at him. "I just asked you to take on two separate gangs of raiders and you aren't even going to fight it?"

"We'll take the job, assuming you have the caps."

"2500. No benefits." Was Harkness' offer.

"3000, four extra officers and benefits." Came Vincent's reply.

"2200, no officers, no benefits."

"2240, one officer, light benefits."

"Deal." Harkness smirked.

It took Vincent a moment to realize that he had been out negotiated. Leon patted his shoulder and told him he would take care of such things next time.

"Name your benefits, and quickly before I change my mind."

"A full pardon for Siobhan, reimbursement for ammunition and free travel to Rivet City."

"I'll honor the first two, but the third is off the table. I'll be sending your officer down in ten minutes. Be ready to hit Anacostia in twenty."

"Wait, who are you sending?" Leon asked, suddenly worried.

Harkness cracked a malicious smile. "One of my best men, naturally."

Leon's groan could be heard for miles.

* * *

Sorry about the length of this chapter, but I decided to take things in a different direction following the bar room brawl. The next few chapters will deal with a couple more recruitments and then the gang will head back over on the other side of the Potomac.

Thanks for reading! Please review and rate! :D


	10. Purgatory

"So… Jar… How's it going?"

The burly security guard gave Leon a look that spoke volumes about how he felt about the young man.

"My name is Jaroslav. You may address me as Officer Palmer and nothing else."

"Sheesh. Not one for light hearted moods."

The group had geared up while Jaroslav was being sent on his new mission. Vincent imagined that Jaroslav believed Harkness to be playing an elaborate prank on him, but that sadly was not the case.

While they were waiting the two new recruits showed off their armor:

Mirza was wearing a hideous blue suit with a gorget similar to Leon's, but the suit also came with black boots, leather gloves and…

"Is that a fucking cod piece?" Ginny half asked, half snorted.

Mirza looked at her with mock offense. "How dare you insult this fine garment! It was crafted by Bannon himself! I paid top dollar for this 'fucking codpiece!'"

Ginny laughed. "I hope not, because short of BB's, there isn't much that cod piece will protect you from!"

Mirza laughed with her. Vincent was glad to see the Scientist unwind a little. The previous night they had purchased a hunting rifle, handgun and combat knife for Mirza, and had spent the night taking practice shots on the flight deck. Around 1 am they called it quits and went inside and went to their respective rooms.

Siobhan was wearing a one piece suit jacket-skirt with fishnet stockings and boots on underneath. She had a well-worn power fist equipped on one fist and an N99 pistol on her hip.

By the time Jaroslav had emerged from Rivet City, he was equipped in his security armor, and wielded his trusty laser rifle. He grudgingly joined up with the Mercenaries and the group set off for Anacostia Crossing.

Vincent had never used a subway before. During his time spent in the north with Lazarus the two of them had never gotten to use a metro system. They had, for the most part, remained far enough away from the Metropolitan area of New York City and had instead chosen to stick to upstate New York.

So he wasn't quite prepared to deal with the dark and rotting underbelly that was the DC Metro Tunnels.

"Flashlights on." Jaroslav commanded.

Leon and Mirza each activated flashlights that they had on their persons. Siobhan reached into her pocket and pulled out a pill container.

"What are you using?" Jaroslav asked immediately. Waste landers often took chems before going into battle. The last thing he needed was some junkie bitch on psycho-

"Cateye. Expensive as balls but worth every cap."

Jaroslav nodded and flipped on his own flashlight which was attached to his belt.

The group slowly moved through the hallways of the metro tunnel, keeping an eye out for anything conspicuous.

A cantankerous Mole Rat proved to be the worst thing they had to deal with.

"I don't get it. Where are the raiders? We've been traveling through these tunnels for hours now and we have yet to find anything out of the ordinary." Ginny commented.

"We have miles of tunnels to go, don't get too sad just yet girl." Jaroslav said.

Vincent was trudging carefully through the debris, keeping note of anything of value that he might be able to pocket. The thought of it was somewhat ridiculous, but old habits die hard.

"Hey Jaroslav?" Vincent asked.

The big man sighed but nonetheless answered Vincent. "Yes?"

"If these tunnels go on for miles, how on earth are we expected to clear them?"

"Well the tunnels may be long, but they are very linear. There aren't a lot of side tunnels to go down. Anacostia Station, which we are coming up on, has only one other line besides the Museum line. We just need to make sure that entrance is bloc-"

Jaroslav stopped talking and ducked down, with the group either standing back or following suit. Five feet away from them was the upper level of the station, and a large group of raiders were milling about. Some were eating, others were getting high. Two raiders were loudly fucking in a dingy corner. Jaroslav grunted his disgust and drew his laser rifle.

Vincent, still crouched, moved to the adjacent wall and slunk along it, creeping silently until he reached the juncture of the wall and the Station entrance. Vincent motioned for the others to take point.

Jaroslav had already sighted his first raider. Ginny had her revolver drawn and was lining up targets. Leon did the same with his Chinese Assault Rifle, while Mirza picked a single raider to shoot.

Siobhan simply cracked her neck and prepared to strike.

A single laser struck a stationary raider, and all hell broke loose.

Every raider in the room stood up and ran towards the front entrance. Mirza got off a shot while Leon got off several volleys. Ginny was terrifying: She had downed three raiders with three shots.

Vincent and Siobhan had jumped out from the entrance and raced towards the raiders. Vincent had unsheathed his shotgun and took out a raider less than two feet away from him, while Siobhan tackled another. Straddling him to the ground she put her Power Fist into his face.

Another raider had drawn a pistol and was firing down the hallway before a combat knife was flung out of the entrance and struck the man in the chest. Not stopped, the raider tried to raise his gun but Leon had raced towards him and butted him in the face with his rifle.

Several raiders on the lower part of the Station were more cautious in their approach: The raiders took to shooting at anything with range. Vincent tackled Leon to the ground to prevent him from taking a round to the chest.

Ginny crouch-walked along the small wall that separated the edge of the upper level from the air. While calmly reloading her revolver she motioned Jaroslav to cover her.

The big guard nodded and pulled a frag grenade out from his belt. Crouch-walking towards her, Jaroslav was right next to her before he tossed the grenade over his head and waited a second before it exploded.

Ginny stood up from cover and quickly picked off a dazed raider.

Behind her a different raider had crept of the stairs and had leveled her shotgun at Ginny. Siobhan unholstered her pistol and put three 10mm rounds into her chest, quickly and efficiently.

Vincent and Leon moved down the two different staircases and began picking off any raiders that were left standing, while Ginny, Jaroslav and Mirza covered them from the balcony.

As Vincent slammed the front of his shotgun into the last raider and pulled the trigger, the fighting had ceased.

The six companions looted the bodies from Ammunition. Vincent, Leon, Ginny, and Siobhan were all used to looting bodies. The group knew Jaroslav was taking no pleasure in the matter, but he did it nonetheless. Mirza was utterly shocked by the looting of the corpses.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he asked, dumbfounded by his companions actions.

"Fact of life Mirza. Every bullet we leave behind is another bullet for another asshole to use on one of us." Leon replied.

"These men and women chose to live as they did. Capital Raiders are practically savage Tribals." Siobhan muttered, as if that made it okay to loot their bodies.

Ginny nodded her head in assent. Mirza was still stunned by their words.

The group picked through the remaining bodies and loot stashes. Without another word.

They spent the rest of the day clearing out the tunnels. Mostly it would just be a Mole Rat or a cluster of Radroaches. One tunnel gave way to a pack of vicious dogs, but they were disposed of quickly and without incident.

When the group arrived at Museum Station they prepared for a gunfight but they were greeted to the sounds of silence.

The group moved quietly through the station, but there was no sound of life.

"I don't get it, intelligence reported two gangs of Raiders." Jaroslav said, unaware of how tense his doubts made the rest of the group.

Leon attempted to lighten the mood. "Perhaps the scouts were wrong. You know they don't do the most thorough of jobs right?"

Jaroslav glared at Leon, but Leon held up his hands in neutrality. Mirza nodded his agreement.

"Leon's right Officer Palmer, the scouts do a pretty atrocious job of tracking enemy movements."

Siobhan was scanning the room slowly when she stopped and her body went rigid:

Lain out near the back of the station were several raider bodies, all torn up. The rest of the group couldn't see them because they fell outside the range of their lights. While the sight was grisly, more grisly were the bodies which looked partially eaten.

One of the raiders was on its back, head on the pavement and dead eyes staring straight at Siobhan.

They stared at her even as it was pulled further into the tunnel, beyond her line of sight.

"Oh fuck!" She withdrew her pistol and aimed it in the direction of the bodies.

The remaining members of the group turned in the direction Siobhan was pointing her weapon at.

"Siobhan what is wrong?" Leon asked.

A loud growl coming from the edge of the Tunnel clued them in.

"Ferals, 12 o'clock!" Vincent shouted.

More than a dozen Feral Ghouls came racing out of the darkness towards the group.

Five guns came out and the group began to fire ballistically at anything moving towards them.

Three ghouls in the first wave survived the initial attack and lunged at the group.

Vincent took down one with his shotgun, while Siobhan swatted one away with her Power Fist.

The third tackled Jaroslav to the ground, where the two grappled and wrestled.

There were still near ten ghouls moving towards the group. Virginia had drawn SMG and was busy plugging away at two ghouls who came near her. Mirza had switched to his pistol and was firing at every ghoul in the crowd.

Leon moved over to the Feral who grappled Palmer to the ground. The two were still wrestling with the ghoul trying to tear off Palmers armor and Palmer punching any and every part of the ghoul. Eventually the ghoul was on top of Palmer and was gearing to strike the Guard's face.

Leon tackled the ghoul with his knife drawn and began stabbing it all over. Palmer scrambled up and grabbed his laser rifle.

The ghoul had knocked the knife out of Leon's hand was about to claw at him.

Palmer took the shot, hitting the ghoul in the chest and vaporizing it.

Siobhan dispatched the last ghoul with a traumatic kick to its face.

Palmer extended a hand to Leon, who was shocked but grateful for it. The group gathered themselves and checked for injuries. Leon has gotten a nasty cut across his hand from the ghoul, and Palmer was covered in scratches.

After the Stims were successfully distributed to Leon and Jaroslav, the group moved upwards to the topmost level and out into the street.

A female ghoul sentry greeted them. "We need to get inside now, Paradise Slavers are making their rounds today. Slavers are bad for business."

The group nodded and entered a large stone building located off to the side of the mall, which Vincent only had a few seconds to survey.

It was just as fucked up as the other Metros he had seen in his time. New York, Buffalo, Dover,…

…_The bridge was always covered in mines, so he had to get out another way. The River was filthy and would kill him. But where? The teeth were behind him, jumping off of buildings and skittering along the streets. All he had to do was keep running…"_

Ginny was shaking him vigorously. "SNAP THE HELL OUT OF IT VINCENT!"

"I'm here. We can go inside."

"The others have, you were lagging behind. We need to get you…" Her voice trailed off as she looked down at his abdomen.

"Ginny?" Vincent asked, looking down.

He froze. A red stain was spreading by his side. He began to feel light headed.

The last thing he heard was Ginny's frantic pleading before the world spun to black.


	11. The Good Doctor

Hello! I had to really work at this chapter to make sure everything fit neatly. You'll get some answers to some questions, and a whole new crop of questions will spring up. Hopefully everything is excellent to read and makes sense logically. If anything doesn't add up or seems out of place PLEASE write about it in a review.

I like to make sure my writing is top notch for you guys :) Thanks for reading!

* * *

"His vitals are stable, and I've removed all of the shrapnel. He needs bed rest for the next two days. If he tries to get up, you are to punch him in the face."

"I will, thank you Doctor." Ginny replied to the stern Ghoul doctor who had treated Vincent.

The last three hours had been a blur: Vincent had been having one of his episodes or flashbacks or whatever the fuck they were. She went to snap him out of his panic for two reasons: Firstly, Vincent was right there, and if he was going to have a fucking panic attack, he would do it in the building. It made no sense to lose his head so long after all of the fighting had receded.

The Second point was that this was still the Capital Metro, and the Mall was the last place you wanted to dick around. Mutants, Feral Dogs, Slavers, even the fucking Talon Company of all groups were known to stalk the grounds and the longer outside you waited the worse it would be for you.

When Vincent had finally snapped out of his panic had she noticed the wound gaping from Vincent's side. Of course it was also Vincent's ideal time to black out on the ground.

She was able to drag Vincent into the building where thankfully Mirza was waiting, smoking a cigarette with some other female ghoul. When they saw Ginny dragging in a wounded and bleeding Vincent they stopped what they were doing and ran to help: Mirza came to help support Vincent, while the female ghoul ran inside to get the doctor.

Between the two of them they were able to lift Vincent's heavy ass (Ginny knew he had considerable muscle bulk, but the fucking armor and duster made him weigh a metric ton, and he since he was passed out it was all dead muscle) and carry him inside Underworld.

As they walked in the doorways they were greeted by two ghouls, one male and one female who had some kind of bed with wheels with them.

"Graves, help me get him on the gurney. The Doctor needs to him stat." The male Nurse said to the female Nurse.

"Right away Barrows."

The four of them lifted Vincent onto the gurney, wherein Barrows and Graves wheeled Vincent straight to the back of the room to a set of double doors.

Mirza and Ginny just watched, shell-shocked by the passing events. Ginny had never seen Vincent hurt in their week spent together, and while the scars on his face indicated otherwise, she could never imagine him getting injured in a fight outright. He was one of the fastest moving, quickest thinking fighters she had ever seen on the battlefield: The Ferals, The Raiders, the Super Mutant at Wilhelm's Wharf, their first meeting…

It hadn't even been a week since the pair had met and still Ginny felt an inseparable bond between her and Vincent. He was charming, smart, and handsome as all fuck even. But he had this air to him, this confidence that made him irresistible. He was the man who would make the most impossible, stupid bet that would have ended in death for any other person and somehow manage to come out of it on top.

She moved back to the present. The Ghoul Doctor had returned to writing out his files and overseeing several other patients.

"Thank you Doctor." Ginny murmured as she sat beside Vincent's bed, clutching his hand tightly.

* * *

Leon and Siobhan came downstairs as soon as a female ghoul came racing in through Underworld's Inn claiming that a human had been shot. They asked her to calm down and she said a blonde human in a duster had been shot. Leon and Siobhan raced out of the room with her. Jaroslav stayed behind.

Prior to that Jaroslav had just introduced himself to Carol, the de facto mayor of Underworld and the lead negotiator of the trade agreement from Underworld's end. If this deal went sour, Underworld had the most to lose.

While they had enough arms and resources to take an army of super mutants, the ghouls were constantly running low of food to feed their population. Rivet City had the opposite problem. Between Li's incredibly complicated but surprisingly useful Hydroponics program, the trade between Caravan merchants and hunters, and the Security forces killing infesting Mirelurks it seemed as though Rivet City was never lacking in food. What they never had enough of was ammunition.

Underworld had to rely on scavenging for food, which never yielded enough for its population to be regularly fed, and while the Caravans were willing to risk their ventures to get to Rivet City, they were far less interested in fighting their way through the Metro Tunnels for Underworld.

Thus this deal was tantamount to the survival of both cities.

And right now, that wasteland prick Vincent was fucking it all up grandly.

"Will you not go see your friend?" Carol asked, eyeing Palmer with skepticism.

"I think we should get down to business. I've got the details of the plan right here, courtesy of Bannon, Rivet City's Councilman on Trade and Finance."

Carol stared at him with blank, blackened eyes. Jaroslav would never admit it to his peers, but Ghouls were among the most unsettling creatures he had ever seen. Harkness of all people was one of the strongest proponents of letting Ghouls live in Rivet City. With their deformities, their stench, their mannerisms Jaroslav could hardly see a use for them. Harkness thought they were resourceful and typically very courteous those they encountered. Palmer could tell from her composure that she was confused. She was expecting him, was she not?

"Are you not going to see your friend?" Carol asked, her voice remaining at an even tone.

Jaroslav paused before continuing. "I am here to conduct business on the behalf of Rivet City, and that mercenary downstairs is no friend of mine."

Carol's eyes narrowed. Jaroslav used every ounce of willpower to not look disgusted. "That_ Mercenary_ risked his life to help get you here. You owe him the commonest of courtesies."

"We don't know if the man who got shot is the captain of those men downstairs."

Carol's face remained contorted into a look of disgust. "Underworld gets less than three visitors a week, and they are never stray humans."

"My business here is with you-"

"No Mr. Palmer, I'm afraid it isn't. When you are reliant on only your fellow people for survival in this wasteland then you learn the value of a Tribe quickly enough. That man downstairs may not be of Rivet City." She paused as if letting her statement settle in. "But he is a human, who risked his life to help you and did not betray you in the process. Now I suggest you go see your friend and stop wasting my time. I don't have any business with you."

Jaroslav was pissed. This ghoul bitch had decided to get rather uppity with him over his treatment of Vincent. And now she wouldn't even do business with him. Fucking perfect.

He wasn't the one who was supposed to be handling the negotiations either. Bannon was the one who needed to be handling this shit. He could smooth talk a mutant into buying a dress. Jaroslav wasn't a people person, and right now it was affecting this very deal. But he was the one who was here, and he was the one who needed to sign off on this before Underworld would send its first caravan to Rivet City.

He took a deep breath and asked himself what he needed to do to continue the survival of Rivet City.

"I'll go check on the Kid, and make sure he is all right."

"You go do that Mr. Palmer." Carol said, looking at him as if he were a speck of dust.

Jaroslav curtly nodded and walked downstairs.

* * *

Ginny, Siobhan, Mirza and Leon were all waiting for Palmer when he came downstairs.

"Vincent?" He asked, knowing the answer before he had even finished asking the question.

Ginny nodded. Mirza looked grave, while Leon looked frustrated. Siobhan was smoking a cigarette.

"What happened?" Palmer asked Ginny in particular.

"The rest of you had gone inside, and I was right behind you when I realized Vincent hadn't come inside yet. I went back out to check on him, and he was just standing there. He has these panics were he can't see straight or act normally. He just shuts down. I tried to shake him out of it. Only after he woke up did I notice this bullet wound in his side. I don't know how he got shot!" Ginny was getting hysterical. Leon put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

With any other person Jaroslav would have taken this as a sign of a good human being. Not so much with Leon Sforza. His blood began to boil.

"Going to comfort her as well Sforza, like you did my Daughter?!"

Leon's eyes went wide with shock. Ginny was actually the one to get angry.

"FUCK YOU PALMER! GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU SELF CENTERED CUNT!" Ginny was absolutely furious.

"YOU'VE SAT BACK AND JUDGED EVERY MEMBER OF THIS GROUP AS LESS THAN WORTHY!"

Jaroslav remained cool. "I have not."

"Yes you have!" Ginny had stopped screaming, but her fury remained undimmed. "Vincent bested me in reflexes the first time we met. Siobhan took down five grown men with no more than her hands and a whisky bottle. Leon has had my back for more than three months now!"

Jaroslav scoffed. "Is that all he has had!?"

Ginny didn't even give him a second. She simply punched him in the face.

Jaroslav saw stars. He had seen the Siobhan in action, and he knew she could throw a devastating hook. He was not prepared for Ginny's vicious punch however.

Leon restrained her, no less pleased with Jaroslav, but not willing to cause a scene.

"Palmer, just use your fucking head for one moment: The five of us have enough skills to raze Rivet City to the ground. The only ones who could give us a fight are Danvers, Harkness, and you. If we were a bunch of amoral assholes, don't you think we would have already tried to fuck up the ship? We haven't, and we won't ever. Because we don't want to. We aren't raiders or Talon Company, we have fucking standards. And yes, I fucked your daughter on her wedding night." Palmer snarled at him but Leon stood his ground. "And I am sorry for doing so. I left the ship so I wouldn't disgrace my family any further. My mother won't even look at me! I came to visit her yesterday, and do you know what she said when I walked into our cabin?"

Jaroslav was still seeing red. "She told me that her son was dead, and that she wanted this stranger to go away."

Leon paused for a moment. "I have been sending one hundred caps a month back to Rivet City for my family, and they won't even acknowledge my existence. There is nothing I can do to earn their forgiveness. I have paid for my crimes Jaroslav. I've left my whoring behind me, because it has cost me nothing but grief. Do you understand Jaroslav? Do you even fucking understand what I have been saying? We are not who you think we are. We want to help make the wasteland a better place. And yes we'll get paid doing so. It's just practical business sense, because without an operations budget, then what good are we to the waste landers?"

The officer registered every word, but he couldn't put it past the rogue kid. These people would never be like Dr. Li and Harkness and Father Clifford. They had no virtue, no laws. They lived like animals and paid for their sins dearly. He bleated about being a waste land protector. Was this some idea of a joke to him?

Just because they could recognize that they had sinned did not make them better people. It merely made them aware of their transgressions. It was up to Him, to decide how they would be treated.

The doors to the Clinic opened up loudly, but Palmer and Leon merely stared at each other with ferocity. Nothing would stop the battle of wills, this duel between the bear and the wolf that was going on before them.

"STOP YOUR CHILDISH BULLSHIT AND GET IN MY OFFICE RIGHT NOW!"

A dragon however, could surely put a hold on things, as their interrupter was clearly doing.

The voice was definitely Ghoul, and to Jaroslav's ears it sounded particularly grating. He and Leon turned to the doorway to see a tall Ghoul with Greenish-yellow skin standing at the doorway. He had on a blood stained white t-shirt and torn khaki pants on. A pair of black glasses framed his face, which was unremarkable, save for his eyes.

Green with flecks of gray spread throughout them. These were human eyes, not like the standard ghoul eyes which were cloudy or burned.

The Ghoul Doctor continued to stare Jaroslav down. "Do not challenge me human. Office, now." The Ghoul didn't shout or scream. Yet the tone in his voice indicated he was done with the antics of these five humans.

Ginny and Mirza moved into the Clinic; Leon broke his gave from the doctor and followed them.

Palmer didn't move.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Siobhan muttered. She turned to the Ghoul Doctor. "My oaf of a companion needs a drink. The day's been taxing on him. We'll be down in a little bit Doc."

The Ghoul Doctor regarded her with interest before nodding subtly at her. He returned his gaze to Palmer and kept his eyes on him while he walked backwards into the clinic, never once breaking his gaze until the doors closed.

Palmer turned to Siobhan, who grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs and towards a bar called the Ninth Circle. Palmer didn't even complain.

* * *

"Your friend wasn't shot per se."

The Doctor had stabilized Vincent and was keeping him on bed rest at the moment.

"Yes, a bullet hit his armor, but it did not penetrate the armor itself. Instead it shattered. This was both fortunate and unfortunate. While this prevented the bullet from entering his body, it did cause shards of the bullet to move past the struck area of the armor." To which the doctor presented Vincent's removed combat armor. Sure enough, the bullet had hit him on the edge of his combat armor, right on the left hand side where he had been wounded. "And into the flesh."

"How did Vincent not feel the bullet?" Leon asked.

"Most likely adrenaline. You are the group which cleared the tunnels?"

"What?! No we were sent to guard the delegate on his way to-"

"Yes, and I'm the Emperor of China. Don't talk to me like I am stupid boy. Those tunnels have been infested with Raiders for weeks. I was curious as to how Rivet City was going to spin their story to us, but frankly I could care less. Azrukhal and Carol will fight each other over Politics, I'm just here to patch up the bodies and be left in peace. Now, you cleared the tunnels?" The Doctor's tone remained flat and even, and carried no hint of emotion.

Leon decided that lying to him would be more trouble than it was worth. "Harkness hired us to clear the tunnel and meet with the trade rep. He said that all we needed to do was clean out the tunnel and things would take care of themselves from there."

The doctor snorted. "Trade representative?" He paused before continuing. "Right, because the Metro just stays empty for the sake of convenience. What did you say about a trade representative?"

Leon continued. "Harkness needed the tunnel cleared in order for the trade caravans to make their way between Underworld and Rivet City. It's all part of some big Trade Agreement Carol and Bannon have been going over for months.

The Doctor simply laughed at Leon. It was a raspy, horrid sound.

Mirza looked uncomfortable, but Ginny looked curious.

"What about this do you find funny exactly Doctor…?"

The Ghoul continued to chuckle before opening a bottle a bottle of purified water and taking a sip.

Finally he resumed talking to the group. "My name is Albert Barnaby, MD. And what I find funny about all of this you ask? We haven't had correspondence with Rivet City for a week now. In fact, we aren't due to send a caravan out for another week, and it is going to an outpost near Grayditch. No, the last communication we had with Rivet City was over the recent Super Mutant attacks. Secondly, Carol may be among the oldest and wisest Ghouls in Underworld, but she has awful business sense. If there were communications going on, they would be with the ambitious Azrukhal."

Mirza looked confused. "But that doesn't make any sense. Harkness told us we needed to get that tunnel cleared. He said it was urgent."

Dr. Barnaby gave a pitying look to the young scientist. "Put some thought behind it little one. Then you'll see the answer."

"I still don't get it. Faulty Intel maybe, I just can't see it." Mirza was running in mental circles.

Leon's eyes hadn't left Doctor Banaby's. "Are you telling me that you weren't expecting a company from Rivet City out here to talk trade?"

"I wasn't expecting humans to come to Underworld, let alone humans who wanted to trade. I vaguely remember chatting with Azrukhal several months ago about Trade with Rivet City, but the idea was laughed off as ridiculous. There haven't been any serious plans with Rivet City ever. Why this Harkness would send you off on a wild goose chase is beyond me." Barnaby said wistfully.

"Unless of course he had a reason for it. If he had something to gain by sending the lot of you out here, through tunnels filled with dangerous creatures and other hazards. Unless Harkness had a proper motive, it would be ridiculous to send six guards from Rivet City-"

"Actually, none of us are affiliated with Rivet City, well the big man is, but we aren't. We are just guns for hire." Ginny finished, as if filling the last piece of a puzzle in.

Leon looked over to her, understanding spreading over his face. "Palmer. He wanted Palmer gone. He said he had the perfect man for the job, so he sent Palmer with us. We needed to go secure this Caravan deal, but there was no deal. Underworld is a day's walk away from Rivet City, and filled with plenty of dangerous opponents. We were expecting casualties, but they may have been expecting…"

"Deaths." The good doctor finished for him.

Ginny whipped out of the fugue for a moment. "But this doesn't make any sense! Why the hell would Harkness get engaged in some kind of grand conspiracy? What benefit does he gain from ousting Palmer?"

Barnaby merely grinned at her. "It would seem as though Carol and Azrukhal aren't the only two playing at local politics. Why don't you go back to Rivet City and find out?"


	12. Two Humans Walk into a Bar

This chapter is less heavy on the action and deals more with character development. We'll be having plenty of intrigue and action in the next few chapters, so don't feel too discouraged. I spent a good deal of time editing this chapter, and I enjoyed reading it but obviously I have writer's bias. Reviews to help me correct any faults with the story would be wonderful, simply wonderful.

For those of you still wondering, this story arc should be resolved within the next two-three chapters tops. I don't plan on dragging it out, but it is necessary to move the plot forward. After the business with Harkness is finished, we are back to recruiting more mercenaries, and the next few are pretty wild. :D

As always, thanks from reading and please review, follow, favorite, scold, beat, kiss, cherish, lavish, ravish or message me. I do so love the attention ;P

* * *

Jaroslav and Siobhan were sitting at the bar, neither one talking to the other. Siobhan was on her third beer, while Jaroslav had ordered a Nuka-Cola.

After ten minutes of sheer silence between the pair, Siobhan raises the white flag of reconciliation:

"D'you want to talk about it?" She asks, turning to face him. Jaroslav continues to look at his Cola, not responding to Siobhan's question.

She sighs and orders another beer, her third. The slimy (which is saying something for a ghoul) bartender nods and serves her another drink. He somehow manages to turn the simple act of serving a patron a beer into a profound act of shameless leering.

Siobhan merely gives him the eyebrow. He scowls and walks to the other end of the bar, off to serve other Ghoul customers.

Siobhan turns back to Jaroslav. "I understand that you are upset-"

"Don't even start." Jaroslav begins darkly.

"Right, like your threats mean absolute _cock_ to me." Siobhan snorts out. She's taken down bigger, meaner men than Jaroslav. She knows this. She knows that he knows this. He doesn't have the grounds for making these kinds of threats.

"I mean it girl, don't go poking around where you don't belong. It's not likely to end well. I appreciate the thanks." By his tone, Siobhan deduced that he was neither thankful nor appreciative. What a bastard.

They sit in silence for several more minutes

"So Leon fiddled with your daughter…"

Jaroslav was surprisingly fast for such a big man. Siobhan just barely caught his left hook with her right hand .

Jaroslav roared and tried to move, but Siobhan clenched down on his captured fist. To Palmer's credit, he didn't cry, and this particular maneuver of Siobhan's had been making men cry from Maryland to Belfast.

"Your hissy fits, they're going to stop. As in _right fucking now_." Siobhan hissed at him

Palmer grunted through his pain, but Siobhan continued. "I get it; you have a beef with Leon because he fooled around with your daughter."

"She was to be married the next fucking morning! She was innocent and sworn to another! And then he showed up…" Palmer was half screaming at her, pain and anger very much evident in his voice. The various ghoul patrons began to shuffle out of the bar.

The leering bartender had one hand under the counter, with his eyes fixed on a ghoul standing in the corner.

Oblivious to the bartender and not having heard the full story, Siobhan urged Palmer to continue.

"I was so happy for her, my baby girl had reached an age where she would start a family and become a woman. She would have been happy and productive. But that isn't what happened. I had been on duty that night, so my daughter was alone. When I got home I went straight to our shared bedroom. I opened the door, and there is my daughter, on all fours on the bed…" Palmer is in tears now and he's coughing so badly that he can't finish the sentence.

Siobhan feels pity for the man, but where he has his grief, she has her logic.

"So I grabbed that bastard Sforza off of the bed, and I beat him within an inch of his life. I deposited his ass on his mother's doorstep and made him explain his actions. By the time I had returned to our home, My daughter was fully dressed and seated at the table. She did not say a word to me. I questioned her, threatened her, _pleaded_ with her even. Nothing worked. Eventually I had to go to her soon to be husband's house and explain the situation. The family wasn't pleased, and I was left further with our family's shame."

Siobhan stared at Jaroslav for the longest time, while he didn't take his eyes off of the floor. She decided to press further.

"What happened to her?"

Palmer takes a deep, ragged breath before continuing. "Sforza's mother essentially disowned him after that incident. He packed his bags and left. I have never seen my daughter so distraught as the day he left the ship. She was standing on the flight deck, incapable of doing anything but crying."

"She remained sullen for weeks after his departure, and with every day it got worse. She would hardly eat her food; she didn't talk to any of the ship mates. She used to be such a lively girl, always curious and talkative."

"Then one day the bridge was down…" Jaroslav's eyes are glassy and clouded with pain.

Siobhan knows that at this moment, Palmer is standing at the edge, looking down into the abyss.

"I was up in the armory, cleaning weapons and going over tactics with Lana Danvers, who is Harkness' second in command. The landward tower radioed the bridge and asked them if Ariana Palmer was given permission to leave the City. I raced through the City, taking every shortcut and barreling through the front door. Landward Control had seen her, but they hadn't stopped her. She had told them that she had permission from her father to leave."

"It was there that I realized something horrible was happening. My baby hadn't said a word to anyone for weeks, and now she was talking to the guards? Something was wrong. They said that she slipped past them when they weren't looking. Fucking idiots, how do a half dozen men miss a little girl in a nightgown?!" Palmer's voice was hoarse, but Siobhan was unrelenting.

"What happened next Jaroslav?" Siobhan pronounced carefully. She is standing next to him at the edge, a hand to his back.

"I hauled ass off of the landward tower and tried to figure out where she had gone. Two of the officers came with me to help find her. Lana had personally come down to help out. We heard gunfire in the distance of the Jefferson Memorial. And then I ran." He stops. His voice is but a whisper.

Siobhan pushes him off the edge. "What happened to her?"

Palmer takes several minutes to start up again. "I was halfway down the hill when I saw her, lying there on the ground. There were two mutants standing over her. I… I… I don't know what happened next."

Siobhan looked at him, more with concern than inquisition.

"Two days later I was woken up in Doctor Preston's clinic. I had charged the Mutants head on. I even managed to kill one of them." Palmer says, bitterness oozing from his tone.

"Danvers and the others pulled me back, gathered Ariana up in her arms. She was so small, so tiny…"

"She was too far gone to be saved. We buried her at sea the next day." Jaroslav looks broken.

Siobhan has dredged up every foul memory from this dark period of his life, with little regard to what she has done to him psychologically.

'Tough Shit.' She thinks. 'No excuse to go about acting like a wanker.' She wonders abstractly if Civilization makes people weak. If Palmer were a true waste lander, he wouldn't be in this position right now. Siobhan needs to talk some sense into this man, because deep down he is a good man. He just needs a push in the right direction.

So she does the only logical thing, they _only_ thing she knows she is good at.

She smacks him the face with the back of her left hand, while releasing her grip of his left fist. It is a light smack.

He only flies five feet to her left.

Basically a love tap is what that is.

Palmer stands up, looking stunned. She's dragged the fight out of him, made him bring his demons to light. Now she's going to educate him. Maybe the Order was onto something when they trained her in "conditioning" the new recruits. Time for her practice to pay off.

"You stupid fuck! Did you ever pause and think about why your daughter acted the way she did?"

Jaroslav looks at her as though she has grown a second head. "My daughter was embroiled by the shame she brought upon her family, at how Sforza robbed her of her inno-"

*thwack*

Jaroslav flies into a nearby table, breaking it in two.

"Stupid _fucking man_! Do you really think your daughter went all glass eyed cos she felt bad for _your honor_? She went all grim and quiet all on account of you sending off her beloved! You practically sentenced him to death by throwing his arse out into the wasteland!"

Jaroslav looks disgusted. "My little girl did not love that punk! She was in love with her fiancée!"

Siobhan gives a long, calculating stare at Palmer, evaluating his deficiencies.

Finally she speaks up. "Let me ask you this big man: Did your daughter have a say in her marriage?"

Jaroslav regards her for a minute. "As in, did she choose her husband?"

Siobhan nods.

Jaroslav pauses, thinking over what he wants to say. "She met the young man several times…" He decides on, weakly defending his now crumbling viewpoint.

"Not what I asked. Did she choose her husband?"

Jaroslav begins to see everything he believes unfurl: His entire justification erodes as he sees his daughter in a new light.

A false light. He clings to his beliefs. "She loved him."

Siobhan shakes her head in disagreement. "I doubt she did if she were knockin' boots with Leon."

Jaroslav looks angry, but it's a far cry from his earlier outbursts: Now he looks winded, almost defeated. It's the bitter anger of a man who has lost a fight, yet clings to his tattered pride.

It doesn't look so hot on Palmer, Siobhan decides.

"He seduced her. He tricked her from her marriage."

"Even if that were the case, who are you to stop them?"

"Sforza was a hound, he would have left her behind, a whore to be without a hus-"

Jaroslav sees the smack coming this time, and manages to shield himself from the worst of it. How embarrassing this would be, if the rest of the security force could see him being smacked around by a girl a foot shorter than him and easily a hundred pounds lighter.

Of course, Harkness was the only one who could best Jaroslav in a fight, so he doubted they'd be laughing for too long.

Siobhan is standing over him, eyes glimmering with frustration.

"The world has ended. Civilization is gone, and God has abandoned us. Don't you _dare_ interrupt me Palmer, I grew up with the most devout Christians in the post-war world. The Order of Kells makes the Brotherhood look like _Heretics _by comparison. I know what asinine thoughts are rattling around in your brain, and I am not in the mood to debate theology with you." Siobhan's voice is acidic. It cuts through his reasoning like a blade.

The bartender has removed his weapon from behind the counter, a 10mm, and is aiming it at Siobhan. The Ghoul in the corner has drawn a wicked looking serrated knife.

Neither Siobhan nor Jaroslav notice.

"The simple fact is this: You killed your daughter. She may have made decisions against you, but you are the one who killed her dreams. You are the one who sent that poor boy off into the wasteland, where by his pure willpower to live he ended up surviving. If you had intervened on her behalf and made an honest man out of him, things may have been drastically different for you."

"He didn't love her." Jaroslav states flatly. He won't deal with this girl right now, no matter how hard she hits him or how angry she gets. The simple truth is that Sforza stole his daughter from him, and nothing will change that.

Siobhan isn't fazed. "Did you ever get his side of the story? Did you ever confirm that?"

The barman has cocked his gun. 'To hell with these crazy fucking humans.' He thinks.

Jaroslav doesn't want to have this conversation anymore. He moves to get up when the bar doors open.

Gunshots ring out behind the pair, who instinctively turn around to see what the hell is going on:

The Ghoul doctor has one of those Chinese pistols raised at the bartender. The Bartender is clutching his hands, cursing in pain. The other ghoul has raised his hands over his head, knife forgotten on the floor. Mirza is pointing his rifle at the ghoul lackey, while Leon is staring at Siobhan and Palmer. His face is grim with bad news.

"We're done here. Don't speak to me again." Palmer mutters to Siobhan. He gets up and moves towards the doors. Leon stops him.

Leon surveys the damage before facing Palmer. "We need to talk."

Palmer's eyes narrow. This day could not get any worse.

* * *

For the love you bear me PLEASE GO REVIEW! The only hard evidence I have of readership is the story traffic chart page, which I refresh far too often. YOUR INPUT IS VALUED! :D

Thanks for reading!


	13. Grand Conspiracies

Onto the story! :)

* * *

*tug*

Ginny snapped awake. It was early in the morning. She had fallen asleep in her chair, and realized she had spent the entire night with Vincent.

*tug*

Ginny looked over to the bed, where Vincent was staring at her. His eyes were squinted, and he was smiling at her.

"Hey." She said to him.

"Hey yourself." He said back, smiling faintly.

Doctor Barnaby had come over from his desk to check on Vincent. "How are you feeling Vincent?"

Vincent detected something in the Doctor's voice. All ghouls had similar, raspy voices. But underneath this voice was something else. An accent maybe?

"I'm doing wonderful Doctor Barnaby. When are we dealing with the Rivet City situation?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, and Ginny realized that Vincent and the Doctor hadn't been introduced yet.

"Awake after surgery? My, my, you are a tough bird Mr. Kayser." Barnaby wasn't stupid, but he was nonetheless surprised at Vincent's being awake.

Ginny was also surprised, but didn't hide it as the Doctor had.

"You ASS!" Ginny shouted at Vincent. "You were awake that whole time!?"

Vincent turned to look at her. "Barely awake. I couldn't do much besides listen. If I could have I would have been participating."

Ginny was not placated. "You are still an asshole!"

"I love you too." Vincent smiled at her. Eyes completely serious.

Ginny's eyes went wide. If Vincent's duplicity was unexpected, then his declaration knocked her stream of conscious out of the park.

"I… need to go check on the others, tell them you are awake." Ginny stood up and left the room.

Dr. Barnaby regarded her departing form before turning back to Vincent. "So, you've had some time to sleep on it, what are your thoughts on this issue."

Vincent regarded the Doctor warily. While he was grateful for the Doctor patching him up, he wasn't quite able to put full trust into the Ghoul.

"That is something my team has to discuss."

The Doctor merely smiled. "Your companions told me about your adventures over dinner last night. They informed me of all your adventures in Rivet City and your putting together of a team. I have to be honest with you, you've all been very lucky so far. You've taken on some vicious opponents and received barely any scratches. As much as I would like to praise your abilities in wasteland survival, there will come a day when your luck runs out."

The Doctor poured Vincent a glass of purified water and handed it to him.

Vincent nodded his thanks to the Doctor. After several loud gulps, Vincent set the glass down on the bedside table.

"What are you saying Doc?" Vincent knew that the Ghoul was getting at something, and he suspected it was employment.

The Doctor regarded him for a moment before continuing. Vincent noticed his eyes, which were lively for a Ghoul.

"Do you know how long it has been since I've left this crypt?" Barnaby asked Vincent.

"Some time I reckon." Vincent responded curtly. He knew every Mercenary company had a medic, but he wasn't sure about letting the Doctor on his team. Skills notwithstanding, the Doctor was definitely not trustworthy.

"One hundred and thirty nine years, seven months, fourteen days, nine hours and-" Barnaby looked to a disc shaped object on the wall with covered in black stripes.

"-twenty-two minutes." Barnaby finished.

"What's stopping you?" Vincent asked.

"Purpose. I came here to make myself useful, and now all it seems I do is minor patchwork. Life has gotten boring here at Underworld: Time stays at a standstill; residents do the same things every day. The lighting doesn't change. The Food rarely changes, and the players have been as they are for nearly twenty years."

"Before your group came here, I was contemplating putting a bullet in my brain. What point is there to life without true purpose I ask you? I will live until time ends. Finding a time consuming hobby is a way to avoid that."

"Build a ship in a bottle." Vincent joked. Lazarus had explained the odd pre-war hobby to him when they found a craft store in Delaware. Vincent thought he was joking until Lazarus showed him pictures. He couldn't believe people actually had the time to do such things.

Barnaby chuckles, and it's as awful sounding today as it was yesterday.

"I think not. I enjoy living an active lifestyle, and that." Barnaby pauses and takes a sip of water for effect. "Is not an active hobby."

"So you want to join our team… That is what you are asking, right?"

"You are correct."

"What skills do you have?"

Barnaby looked taken aback. "Are you joking?"

"No, what skills do you have?"

Barnaby scoffed. "Let me see: Over two hundred years of medical experience. Two hundred years of wasteland survival skills. _Over_ two hundred years of killing." The Doctor enunciated the last point.

"What kind of Doctor killed people before the war?" Vincent asks. He actually finds Ghouls fascinating, with their wealth of pre-war history. At least those from Pre-war America are interesting. The "fresher" ghouls have little he hasn't already experienced for himself, aside from Ghoulification.

"It's a long story." The Doctor said, suddenly elusive. _'Oh no you don't.'_

"Military Doctor?" Vincent asked, no longer suspicious and no legitimately curious.

Barnaby's lips curled into a fiendish smile. "Something like that. Earn my trust and one day you may just find out."

"And how do I know you won't murder us in our sleep?"

Now Barnaby looked truly offended. "I could. But at what cost? And how possible would it be for an old Ghoul such as myself to actively take out some of the most dangerous waste landers I have ever seen? It would be stupid, uncalculated, messy. Childish."

The clinic doors opened to reveal Leon, Mirza and Siobhan.

"Hey tough guy. How're you holding up?" Leon asked cheerily.

"Good enough to get going. I assume you broke the news to Palmer?"

"Yep. That went _swimmingly_. It may have been less angst driven if Siobhan hadn't spent the previous hour beating the hell out of him."

Vincent raised an eyebrow at the Irish girl. "He was askin' for it. I didn't do nothing that you wouldn't 'ave done in my place."

"Does he believe it?" Vincent asked Leon.

"Well considering he proceeded to interrogate Carol for the next two hours, and then proceeded to the bar and cleared Azrukhal out of his entire stash of whisky…" Leon began to say.

Vincent cut him off. "Tell him to sober up; we are out of here in an hour."

"He's awake and itching to go." Mirza added helpfully.

Vincent nodded and turned to address Dr. Barnaby. "We are going far away from Underworld, and I doubt we will be back here anytime soon. If you are coming along I suggest you pack your things and be ready in an hour."

The Doctor smiled in his disconcerting fashion.

"He's joining us?" Siobhan asked.

"He's a killer shot Vincent!" Mirza added, sounding excited that such a character was joining them.

Vincent looked back to Barnaby, who merely shrugged.

"That so?" Vincent asked.

The Doctor's grin lifted at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

An hour later, the group of seven had left Underworld and was working their way through the tunnels.

Vincent had exceeded the doctor's expectations and was keeping up with the brisk pace, despite the fact that he had been out of surgery for less than twenty-four hours.

Ginny was still not talking to Vincent. It wasn't out of spite. It was because of her conflicted feelings for the man. She shook them off and put on her game face.

Palmer was hung over, and even surlier than yesterday. Mirza informed Vincent of the fight outside the clinic, and Siobhan had filled him in on the incident at the Ninth Circle. Given the circumstances, Vincent was surprised the man had the willpower to walk. Yet here he was, trudging along the ruined metro with something akin to purpose.

Leon looked uneasy as well. He and Palmer had some kind of heart to heart last night, and it was clear to the ever perceptive Vincent that it was weighing on his mind.

Siobhan remained unreadable. Her expressions bordered between jubilant and stony. Vincent gave up on trying to figure her out for the time being. Later he would be able to get a read about her.

Mirza looked genuinely happy to be here. Vincent was concerned at first that the kid would hate mercenary work, but he took a shining to it in a way that Vincent couldn't have foreseen. It may have been a refreshing change of pace from the ordinary for Mirza, or perhaps his sense of adventure had finally been awakened.

Dr. Barnaby also looked pleased. Or at least as pleased as a Ghoul can look. Vincent had his misgivings about the Ghoul, but he wouldn't let them overshadow their mission:

Figure out what in the holy fuck was going on in Rivet City. So far they had pieced an outline together:

Harkness had propositioned the group with a job that involved clearing a large stretch of the DC Metro Tunnels in order for a trade route to be secure for Caravans traveling to and from Underworld. Harkness had also specifically placed Palmer, a top lieutenant and ranking officer of the Rivet City Security forces with the group, under the auspices of finalizing the trade agreements.

Palmer admitted that he never questioned his involvement in the trade negotiations, but that was because he had nothing to question: He could read, he could write, and he was a trusted lieutenant of Chief Harkness. All he had to do was make sure everything was properly signed off on. To his knowledge, he had no reason to believe Harkness was setting him up for anything.

Of course, therein lay the rub: Carol, the Ghoul with whom Harkness had allegedly been negotiating with this whole time, had no idea what Palmer wanted. When pressed about trade, she attempted to sell a room to Palmer.

So Underworld was not expecting Rivet City in any capacity, which meant one of two things:

The Ghouls of Underworld were world class liars who had ulterior motives towards Rivet City, or selfish motives for wanting the tunnel cleaned, which was plausible but not necessarily logical.

Or Harkness had sent Palmer on a wild goose chase. As crazy as this theory was (Palmer wasted no time in trying to find ways to shoot it down and discredit its validity) it held a certain level of sense: Assuming Harkness had specifically instructed them about the job and its importance, but prior to meeting Harkness the group had heard nothing mentioned about opening up trade to Underworld.

When Leon asked Ginny about whether she had heard anything from the vendors during her time at the Marketplace, she said that not a single one had mentioned anything about trade with Underworld. Palmer himself acknowledged that he had never heard a vendor speak about Underworld in terms of trade.

Then there was the choice of personnel: Harkness wasn't short on security guards, and if a deal this size was important to Rivet City, he could have easily outfitted a squad of men to police the tunnels. Vincent thought that he may have wanted to conserve ammunition, but Palmer reassured him that Rivet City had enough firepower to last them several months' worth of skirmishes. It may not have been an infinite or even large supply per se, but it was sizeable enough to make a trained excursion through the tunnels possible.

So then why was it so detrimental to hire outside help to clear the tunnels? Yes, mercenaries were expendable, but the loss of the mercenaries was counterproductive. If Harkness needed the tunnel cleared for the plan to work, why would he entrust such a job in the hands of mercenaries, especially ones who could fail and jeopardize the entire deal.

Vincent spent several hours going over the details and bouncing them back to his team as they traversed the tunnels. The way back was surprisingly quiet, save for several Mole rats that Leon and Mirza dispatched with ease.

When the team finally exited Anacostia Station and emerged within sight of Rivet City, they were greeted by Chief Harkness and over a dozen Security Guards.

"First Lieutenant Jaroslav Palmer, you are under arrest for the crimes of high treason and collusion with the enemy. Surrender your weapons or prepare to be executed." Harkness proclaimed in a flat, judicious tone.

Huh. So much for "grand, unbelievable conspiracies." Vincent thought as he unholstered his shotgun.

Things were about to get very interesting.

* * *

Oh snap! How will Vincent and the gang get out of this pickle? Stay tuned to find out!

Thanks for reading and be sure to review!


	14. Burning Bridges

I seriously had to retype this scene about four times before I find the right ending. I'll give further notes at the bottom, but for now, sit back and enjoy the ride ;)

* * *

"Surrender your weapons." Harkness calls out to the group. Several of the guards have unholstered their assault rifles and have them trained on the Mercenaries.

Ginny has had her revolver out since they started walking through the tunnels. Mirza and Leon are without arms, but Barnaby and Palmer have their Shanxi and Laser Rifle out respectively. Siobhan has swiftly moved into a fighting stance. Vincent holds his hands up and decides to figure out what exactly Harkness is playing at.

"High treason? You paid us to clear the tunnels and deliver a trade agreement to Underworld. Since when is following orders defined as treason?" Let's see how good Harkness is at this game.

To his credit the Chief's face remains stoic. "What a convenient cover story. I'm sure Dr. Li will be thrilled to hear that we have trade established with Underworld." Harkness deadpanned.

"You sent me out yourself-" Palmer began to say, confusion creeping into his voice.

Harkness held his hand up. "I gave you no such order. You deserted your post in order to negotiate with the enemy."

Palmer's eyes widen in shock. It's the first time Vincent has seen Palmer so utterly caught off guard.

Several of the Rivet City Security Guards glance at each other uncomfortably. _That_ does not surprise Vincent. According to everything he has seen, Palmer has a sterling track record; his loyalty is unquestionable, not to mention absurd. Harkness merely smiles.

"Your acting is commendable, but I'm not going to fall for your antics. Ever since your tragic loss, you've shown signs of mental instability. You're performance has slackened. Tell me, how long did it take for you to break up little miss monster's bar fight the other night? Fifteen minutes, Twenty? You're slipping in your professional life Palmer-"

"I was on the bridge! We didn't get called until the fight was well under way!" Palmer defends himself wildly. He isn't going down without a fight. Verbally at least.

Harkness shakes his head. "I don't care about your excuses. You have proven to be an unreliable officer of the law. Now you've left your post and teamed up with a bunch of criminals. I should have seen this coming sooner. All of your actions have been mired by the death of your whore daughter."

Both Palmer and Leon look ready to rip Harkness' head from its shoulders.

"And if images speak louder than words, tell me gentlemen, just who is that standing next to Officer Palmer?" Harkness points damningly at Doctor Barnaby.

Doctor Barnaby raises his eyebrow at Harkness. Several other officers looked disgusted, as if they had just realized that there was a ghoul in their midst. Other officers took this as a cue to draw their weapons.

The air tensed further. Vincent had to keep things cool before they all got caught in the crossfire.

"Dr. Albert Barnaby is with our group Chief. He joined up with us as we left Underworld."

"Also convenient, Underworld wants to spy on us, so they send a spy."

Barnaby sneers at Harkness. "Damn it captain, I'm a doctor not a spy!"

"My station is Chief, not Captain. Of course that wouldn't mean anything to an uneducated monster such as yourself."

The Doctor shook his head. "Of course such a reference would pass over your head. What can I say though, you are only _human_." Barnaby's gaze never leaves the Chief. Vincent watches as something unfolds on Harkness' face. It's not quite apprehension, but it's a cloud of disbelief. Something has affected Harkness, caused him to not think properly. Now he is shouting at Palmer:

"You would have me removed from my station, and give Rivet City over to these _things_?! Unacceptable. I KNOW YOUR GAME PALMER! You want me gone so you can _rule_ in my place. It is what you have always _wanted_ from me! Ever since you've started on the Security forces you've worked to _upend_ me!"

Harkness' voice is strained, and Vincent can_ swear_ he hears something _wrong_ with the man's voice.

Palmer looks dejected and lost. "All I have ever wanted is to serve my city. I have wanted nothing more in life."

"Chief? What do you want us to do?" An officer asks to his Chief, who is still staring at Barnaby with that expression on his face.

Harkness begins to regain his composure. "I… Need you to handcuff the prisoners so that they may be tried for crimes against Rivet City."

The officer nods than signals to his men. The officers take a step closer to the group.

Ginny's grip tightens on her revolver.

"Don't do it." Leon whispers.

Vincent thinks that this is the end. He has left Lazarus alone in Megaton, and his friend will never know what has become of him.

The officers move closer, not stopping for a second.

"Chief?" One of the officers who has hung back is staring at the Landward tower concernedly.

"Chief?!" The man asks again, panic evident in his voice. Vincent looks past the man and his own eyes widen.

Harkness hisses at him to be quiet without even looking at him. Other officers turn to look and freeze up.

The officer points, Harkness turns around to see a dozen mutants racing up the hill towards the Landward tower. They roar in terrifying synchronization before opening fire on the towers inhabitants.

Harkness' eyes widen as half of his officers stop what they are doing and race towards the tower.

The other half are at a stand-still: They want to follow their commanding officer, but they aren't about to leave their home under attack.

Palmer doesn't give them the chance. With a forward motion he rams the butt of his gun into the nearest officer's face before shouting. "NO FATALITIES!" to the rest of the mercenaries.

Ginny and Barnaby redirect their aim and begin kneecapping guards.

Harkness draws his pistol only to have Siobhan kick it out of his hands. A missile strikes the landward tower, causing a massive explosion to deafen the background.

The remaining guards are racing back towards Rivet City, save for those that were shot by Ginny and Barnaby. Harkness moves to punch Siobhan but she slaps away his fist before delivering a jaw shattering right hook to his face. Harkness is knocked out for the count.

Vincent screams for the group to run for the ferry, which is docked just past the tower. They do not hesitate.

Palmer and the six mercenaries make a break for it, racing past Mutants and Guards alike. Leon, Siobhan and Vincent reach the ferry first, with Ginny and Mirza right behind them. Barnaby is purposefully avoiding the battle by racing around the fighting, while Palmer is walking through the middle of the fighting, occasionally doling out punishment to whichever mutant gets near him.

A singular guard and the Gusty are on the ferry. The guard raises her gun only to have Ginny shoot it out of her hands. The Gutsy's pilot light ignites and its eye sensors narrow.

"Patton needs a fresh clip!" Mirza shouts at the top of his lungs.

The Gutsy's pilot light extinguishes and it races forward, demanding to find Chief Harkness. Siobhan helpfully kicks the gutsy in the face, which ends with a destroyed Gutsy. The Guard raises her hands, after seeing one girl disarm her with a pistol from ten feet away and another _kick a robot to death_.

"Nice work!" Leon says to the two of them. Mirza blushes while Siobhan grins.

"Start the boat!" Vincent yells. Ginny levels the revolver at the female guard's head, wherein the guard complies and turns the boat on.

Barnaby climbs into the ferry, while Palmer is just now approaching the dock.

"PALMER! GET IN THE DAMN BOAT!" Vincent yells at him. Palmer looks dazed, and turns back to look at the carnage surrounding the Landward tower: a dozen guards are down and the mutants are pressing on the tower, which is on fire. As he watches, the bridge retracts and Rivet City abandons the men who are fighting so hard to save it. Palmer let's an audible sigh pass through his body before turning around and facing Vincent.

He runs towards the Ferry and jumps in as it pushes off from the dock.

The group spends the rest of the boat ride in silence, the sounds of battle growing softer as the Ferry moves away from Rivet City and back to the rest of the world.

* * *

So yes, here is the progression of Deus Ex Machinas:

1. Lazarus shows up. Would make no sense given the current plot.

2. Mister Burke Shows up. Makes less sense than #1, but I had a whole thread written out for it. It ended up just making a giant Mexican Standoff though,

3. The group gets imprisoned but Ginny breaks them out with her mad lockpicking skills. I thought this was fairly weak and hard to justfiy, **since the only way off of the ship is through a retractable bridge controlled on a different part of the ship.**

4. Teo and the BoS show up. This one was patently ridiculous, but if you really want to see more of Teo, well you are in luck. In fact, you are really really in luck because pretty much every faction in the Capital Wasteland gets a shout out, and the more porminant ones contribute members to the Cowboys. You'll see my darlings, oh you shall see :D

Speaking of, please review my story. I like reading reviews and interacting with you guys, but if you don't review then I can't make the story better. And that makes me a saaaaaad panda. So please do your civic duty and go review! I'm not opposed to taking story suggestions and then giving credit to the reviewers who post them ;)

But in all seriousness, thank for reading! :)


	15. Tourist Trap

So, this chapter turned out radically different from how I envisioned it, but I like the end result. Please tell me if you do too. :)

* * *

Mirza is the first to break the silence. "So, what the fuck was up with Harkness?"

Barnaby and Vincent turn to regard him. Leon has switched off with Ginny in the role of let's-keep-the-helmswoman-under-gunpoint! And Ginny is now napping on one of the benches.

Siobhan was smoking another cigarette, keeping lookout for Mirelurks or other aquatic threats. She clenches and unclenches her fists reflexively. It's been hours she has gotten to punch anything.

Palmer was the one who worried him. Vincent had watched the man's mood swing in several different directions before settling on perturbed. At least he didn't look like he was going to cause any kind of trouble. Still… For Palmer to leave his entire life behind was no easy feat. Vincent knew from experience.

"It would seem as though Chief Harkness is delusional. Everything he said, along with his mannerisms, pointed to his inability to handle external pressure. In all likelihood he believed Palmer to be out for his job, and devised a trap for which to oust Palmer." Doctor Barnaby answered Mirza's question.

"But that is… crazy?" Mirza said, the irony of which was not lost upon him.

Doctor Barnaby simply smiled. "Precisely."

"But what do we do if he comes after us?" Mirza asked.

"Kill him, and any fucker who follows him. We're done with Rivet City." Palmer said, not looking up from his weapon.

Vincent realized that Palmer had said "our way". His time with Rivet City was behind him.

"And in the meantime, what the fuck are we doing with your sideshow Vincent?" Palmer asked gruffly.

"Well we've got a Doctor and some pretty decent fighters. But we still need some other support crew. Lazarus told me stories about the crew he ran with up in New York. They were pretty organized, even on par with the Brotherhood in terms of skill, if not being nearly as large." Vincent added.

"So what kind of specialists are we looking at?"

"Some good scouts, some demolition experts, oh and definitely a Master at Arms or…"

"Weaponsmith?" Palmer finished helpfully, eyes lighting up.

"Yeah… you know anyone good enough to fill the job?" Vincent was now staring at Palmer. Leon and Barnaby were also paying attention to the unfurling conversation.

"Yeah, there was this kid who visited Rivet City-"

*Thump*

"Mirelurk." The Helmswoman replied, looking very uneasy without her Gutsy.

Ginny sat up, and in one swift motion drew and cocked her revolver and aimed it at the side of the boat.

Siobhan raised her hand. "Oh no you don't Annie Oakley. This one's mine."

The Helmswoman looked at Siobhan as if she were on fire. "You're joking…"

As expected, the giant claw draped itself over the edge of the boat. Siobhan slid on her Power Fist and readied her stance.

"What are you waiting for, take it out!" The Helmswoman screamed.

"Patience. Back at Kells we had an active problem with giant ants. The Abbots would constantly kill the intruding pests and go on with their lives. They never got to the root of the problem."

A vicious, mutated Horseshoe crab began raising itself onto the boat. Siobhan was still waiting.

A second claw steadied itself onto the side of the boat. The Mirelurk leaned into the boat…

…And Siobhan drew back her fist before launching herself at the Lurk. The Fist connected with the fragile, unarmored face of the Mirelurk. The creature hissed but let go of the sidings and fell into the ocean.

The Helmswoman was gobsmacked. Siobhan turned to her. "Well, what are you waiting for? Start the damned boat!"

The Helmswoman keyed the ignition and continued moving the ferry towards the shore.

"You were saying Palmer?" Vincent resumed their conversation, a faint smile on his lips.

Palmer merely eyed Siobhan before continuing talking. "Yeah, well let me indulge you in a little bit of history before I get to my point."

"I'm listening, but don't take too long, the dock is in sight." Vincent added, sidling up to Ginny, who curled into his side.

Palmer nodded. "Rivet City is an old ship, and requires frequent maintenance in order to stay stable. Mirza has firsthand knowledge at how big the maintenance staff is on the ship." Mirza nodded in cohesion with Palmer. "Well even with the size and expertise of our staff even _we_ had some technical difficulties. Occasionally we needed help from outside sources to keep some of our more sensitive equipment working."

Vincent looks over to Leon. "Brotherhood?"

Leon nods. "Among others at least, but Teo and some of the Scribes were pretty much the extent of our outside contractors. They were immensely helpful at keeping the radios, radars and other delicate stuff in tip-top shape. Rivet City traded them food and other supplies and in return they fixed our tech. It was my job before leaving to broker the deals with them."

Palmer nodded. Regardless of his past animosity with Leon, Palmer was at least going to be cordial to the man. Vincent counted that as progress.

Palmer continued where Leon left off. "We got a lot of help from Brotherhood scribes, but we also had other contractors. Most notably was this kid who'd show up every other week. Nate Turchin. Jesus, that kid…"

Mirza's eyes go wide. "You want to bring Nate on the team?!" Mirza asked.

Palmer gave him a harsh look. "He's an engineering genius. He fixed all kinds of gear whenever he showed up. Hell, Flak and Shrapnel called first dibs on his services whenever he walked into the market. Nate knows his way around dozens of guns and he's even better at mending armor than he is at mending weapons."

Vincent watched Mirza. Mirza remained skeptical. "What aren't you telling me Mirza?"

Mirza scoffed. "You think I'm a mediocre fighter?" You should see Nate. He's an even worse combatant than me."

Vincent shook his head. He was beginning to think Leon's density was an airborne virus. "I don't need everyone out in the field 24/7. Some personnel will be at home base for the most part. They will be working just as hard, but they won't be taking flak at every turn."

* * *

The Ferry docked without incident, but upon arriving the group noted a significantly larger ship moored just south of their location. It was an older steamship, and the wear and tear was considerable.

The group got off of the ship with Leon leaving last, rifle still trained on the Helmswoman.

"Go back at your own leisure. When you do give Harkness, or Danvers if that asshole is dead, a message: we won't be bothering Rivet City again. If he comes after us, or sends people after us, we will send them back in bags. If he does it enough, we'll get our friends to back us up" Palmer sneered, gesturing in the direction of the Citadel.

Harkness may have been insane, but assuming he didn't stop what he was doing now that Palmer was gone, the threat of pissing off the Brotherhood was enough to ward off all but the most foolish of pursuers.

The woman nodded vehemently before starting the boat.

"And Officer?" Palmer asked, edge evident in his tone.

"Y-Y-Yes?" The fazed officer asked.

"Do remember that we could have killed you. _Have a nice day_." Palmer snarled.

The Ferry was already turning around, powering back to Rivet City.

Vincent and the group were arguing on where to go next. Leon began to speak. "The Duchess Gambit is here. It only makes this trip once every two months and then it only stays briefly."

"Where does the ship come from?" Vincent asked.

"Some swampland to the south, but they tend to have a selection of goods you can't find anywhere else." Ginny added helpfully.

"Palmer, where does this Turchin live?" Vincent asked.

"Up in Grayditch." Grayditch. On the way back to Megaton. Perfect.

"All right, we'll stop by the Duchess Gambit before doubling back to Megaton. Sound like a plan?"

* * *

"Welcome travelers! Ready to see the wonders of Point Lookout?"

The Mercenaries had been greeted by a shifty looking fellow who they assumed was the driver.

He introduced himself as Tobar and gave them a long winded history of the ship. Vincent would have been far more interested if he hadn't been appraising the other patrons.

Aboard the Duchess Gambit were three other patrons: An older woman who was rocking quietly in the corner; another woman, this one with Tribal markings. The final patron was a man, possibly a year older than Vincent.

He was pale, with shaggy red-brown hair. The same hair covered his face in the form of a close cropped beard. He was at least as tall as Lazarus, but had a build similar to Vincent's own. His eyes were brown, but not the warm brown that Ginny had. His were dark and hard.

He wore tattered leather armor with a gray cap on his head. Holstered at his back was some kind of rifle that Vincent had never seen before. He could swear he saw a lever on the gun.

The shifty man broke Vincent's appraisal on the male patron with more sales pitching. "Point Lookout is a great location to come visit! Why don't you ask any of its natives about their time spent there?"

The older woman burst into tears.

The Tribal began muttering something in a garbled language that Vincent couldn't understand.

The male patron snorted.

Tobar looked dissatisfied with his Patrons. "Get off my god damn boat. You paid for your fares, now get going!" The older woman snuffled and shuffled off. The Tribal left as well.

The man remained unmoving, as he was now appraising Vincent and his group. He was giving Mirza some interesting looks as well.

"Josiah! You get your ass off my boat this instant!"

Josiah ignored Tobar and walked straight up to Vincent. "I'm in"

Vincent stared at the man. "Beg pardon?"

"Smuggling, caravan work, mercenary work. Whatever it is you folks are on about, I'm in." Josiah replied.

"How do you know we aren't travelers?" Vincent replied.

Josiah snorted. "You got a sense of humor don' ya? I 'spose y'all could be travelers. And I 'spose I might just be a brahmin's ass."

Palmer raised an eyebrow. "Travelers who've got fancy weapons." He pointed out Siobhan's Power Fist and Palmer's laser rifle. "Fancy armor." He pointed at Vincent's own armor as well as Palmer's combat armor. "And travelers who ain't got any luggage." He pointed the group's lack of bags.

"Y'all are up to something mighty adventurous. And I want in." Josiah stated, matter of factly.

"And what makes you think we need your help?" Ginny asked from the back of the group.

Josiah smiled. "No better tracker south of the Mason-Dixon line."

"How's your shooting?" Leon asked.

"Shot the wings off a Bloatfly at sixty feet…" Ginny snorted.

"Hush your mouth hussy, din't say I was finished yet." Josiah growled at Ginny

"Shot them wings off, with a sawn off."

Leon's eyes widened. Mirza was gaping at him.

" ." Ginny replied. "That doesn't even make sense. Since when can a shotgun, especially a sawn off hit a _fucking bloatfly from more than thirty feet away_!"

As if on cue Tobar whipped out a sawn off and tossed it at Josiah, who caught it, cocked it, and trained it above Ginny's head.

"Like this." Josiah fired. Ginny had her revolver out and had fired two shots in his direction. Everyone ducked down or dodged the buckshot. Josiah hadn't even been hit by Ginny's shots, which was impressive in and of itself.

Vincent had pulled his knife out and had to Josiah's throat. "I'm about one second away from slitting your fucking throat!" Vincent was not pulling fucking punches right now.

Ginny's voice broke his concentration. "Vincent…"

Vincent didn't take his eyes off of Josiah. "What is it baby? Are you okay."

"Yeah, Vincent turn around…" She sounded stunned, which was not what he was expecting.

He sheathed his knife and turned around.

Lying on the ground was the Tribal woman, her torso shredded with buckshot. On the ground beside her was a knife, glistening with some kind of liquid. "No one, no one has ever snuck up on me before." Siobhan muttered.

It took Vincent a moment to process the scene before he understood it: Josiah and seen the tribal woman sneaking up on the group and he had shot her in mid-air. But why? How would he have known she was going to jump…

"What in the living fuck was that!?" Mirza asked, recoiling from nearly being shot by a cluster of buckshot.

Tobar's eyes widened. He sought to provide some much needed context. "These Tribals, they're always doing stupid shit like this…"

Josiah turned the Sawn-off on Tobar and fired. Tobar slumped to the ground, very much dead. Now the group had their guns turned on Josiah.

"Part of Tobar's game. He lures in tourists and kills them mid ship ride to Point Lookout. Natives know better than to fool 'round with him. He typically lets the departing customers go so they can spread the word about his ship."

"And you're in on it? His _game_" Vincent asked. Leon helpfully raised his rifle in Josiah's direction.

Josiah dropped the gun. "I came here to start a new life, not get mixed up with a fuckin' grifter. You're welcome to anything on the ship."

Vincent personally pulled out his pistol and pressed it to Josiah's head. "What makes you think I can fucking trust you?! You just killed your co-conspirators, who were planning on killing all of us."

Josiah didn't flinch at the pistol being held to his head. "I didn't kill no one, but he offered the job to me. You were to be my first. Reckon I had a change of heart."

Vincent wasn't convinced. "Or you knew we were going to end you and your friends. I still don't think I can let you off this ship alive."

Josiah looked straight at Vincent. "Then pull the fuckin' trigger. Cos I ain't going back."

Vincent looked straight into his eyes. Dark brown. They were hard eyes, the eyes of a man who has seen a lot in his lifetime. A man who had walked through hell and back.

Vincent saw a scared little boy running through the streets of a bombed out town, being chased by wounded monsters.

In one motion Vincent holstered his pistol.

"One quick move, one sketchy glance, _one fucking __move__ out of line and I will personally end you_."

Josiah gulped and nodded. Vincent turned back to the group, who were staring at him dumbfounded. Except for Barnaby, who was smiling. Creepy bastard.

"Let's get the gear and get going."

"What about the ship?" Palmer asked.

"A new Captain will come along and do with her what she will." Josiah finished solemnly.

The group nodded and moved through the ship, collecting belongings as they went.

* * *

Yes, Josiah was intended to be one of the additions, but I didn't plan on bringing him on in such a fashion. You'll get more of his backstory soon too. You'll get all of their backstories in due time. :D

Thanks for reading! Now go review! :P


	16. Ancient History

The River road back to Grayditch was quiet. No raiders, Mutants or Ghouls accosted them on their way to the small settlement.

The Brotherhood tried to give them trouble when they passed the Citadel, but between Vincent's smooth talking and Leon's reputation they were able to move by unscathed.

Teo was not out front this time, and neither was Bael.

After several days of traveling, Vincent reflected how quiet the Capital Wasteland was in comparison to New York. Vincent had grown up with an abundance of sound, both good and bad.

He fell asleep to the sounds of gunfire in his youth, machinery in his adolescence and Lazarus's stories as an adult.

Now, with nothing but unrelenting silence to welcome him at nightfall, Vincent found himself prone to irregular sleeping habits and restlessness. He knew it would begin to affect his combat prowess if he kept getting worn down, and he obviously had to do something about it.

Now, after three days' worth of travel, the group had finally arrived at Grayditch.

Grayditch, as Vincent discovered, was an urban neighborhood that had been cordoned off naturally by debris and by manmade barricades.

Despite the citizens who lived in prewar buildings, Grayditch was remarkably similar to other settlements he had seen in the north: several Brahmin were grazing in an old playground, while several civilians were milling about one of the side streets.

The town's sentries tensed up when they saw Vincent's well equipped and dangerous looking group. It took some staunch reassurance that Vincent and his group were only in Grayditch briefly to talk business with Nate Turchin.

The guards lowered their shoulders and relaxed at the mention of the town's handyman. The mercenaries entered without another word from the sentries.

After several inquiries the group was directed towards a partially ruined store front. Inside a man was making repairs to a generator with a blow torch. A rusted, but well organized toolbox sat next to him. He was completely focused on the repairs.

Mirza smirked and quietly snuck behind him. The rest of the group watched him with a strong mix of confusion and amusement.

Mirza leaned close to the man's ear and shouted: "BANG CLYDE!"

"ублюдок!" The young man shouted, jumping several feet in the air. Vincent and the rest of the group did not recognize what the man had said. Barnaby's face was passive.

After settling down, the man tore off his welding mask and whipped around to face his assailant.

Palmer wasn't kidding about Nate's age. The "handyman" couldn't be more than eighteen. Long dirty blonde hair came down to the young man's neck. The kid had a scruffy looking moustache and beard, with a large pointed nose above it.

Bright green eyes flickered with recognition when he saw Mirza.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Again, Vincent heard a slight accent underneath the young man's English. Lazarus was going to have a field day when the group returned to Megaton. Lazarus was amazed by prewar culture and foreign nations, and he was always very happy to find materials regarding the rest of the prewar world among the ruins they scavenged.

Mirza merely smirked at him. "Perhaps. You _were_ always messing with my workstation…"

The young man scoffed. "Yeah, if by messing with you mean methodically cleaning. You are a complete pig!"

Palmer coughed in the background. The young man turned to the rest of the group, eyes going wide. "Officer Palmer? What on earth are you doing here? Why aren't you in Rivet City?"

Palmer scratched the back of his neck. "It's a long story Nate. How about we go grab lunch and we'll discuss everything."

Nate nodded briefly at Palmer. "I just need to finish installing these chromatic distillation tubes, rewire the circuits in the back, reroute the coolant through the drainage valve and put the cover back on the generator." Nate said, as if that was no big deal.

Vincent spoke up. "Isn't that going to take some time?"

Nate cocked his head at Vincent. "Maybe if I were Mirza, then yes I would end up missing lunch and mooching off someone else-"

"Hey!" Mirza playfully shoved Nate.

"But,_ I_ should have it done in about ten minutes. I'll see you guys at the Diner."

"All right, we'll see you there Nate."

Over a hot lunch at a refurbished diner (Which the group tore through with gusto), Palmer explained the events of the past week. He introduced Vincent and the others to Nate. Vincent didn't miss the forced smile Nate gave to Leon when the two saw each other. Leon's reaction was similar.

Nate was surprised when Palmer told him of Harkness' betrayal and the attack on Rivet City.

He gave Palmer a sincere apology for what happened, to which Palmer curtly thanked him. Vincent then explained the group's visit to Grayditch and their recruitment of Nate.

Turning to Vincent, Nate began to ask questions. "So allow me to sum up your business offer: You want me to leave my comfortable, guarded community to travel out into the wasteland to fix weapons for yourself and a crew of mercenaries, _half_ of whom I do not even know? No offense meant."

"None taken." Ginny and Siobhan responded sweetly.

"I know that it doesn't sound like the most comfortable of jobs…"

"Comfortable? I have a house here. I have a bed, and a kitchen. I buy groceries from the trade caravans. I fix weapons and electronics here. I make a killing when I travel to Rivet City to ply my services. What you are asking me isn't just 'Less Comfortable'" Nate used finger quotes for the words less comfortable. "No, what you are asking me is to leave behind a stable life that pays well to move out into the wasteland."

"It's not too bad." Leon provided, rather unhelpfully.

Nate's eyes narrowed. "I grew up on a small farm in the wasteland! I know what the world is like out there Sforza! Unlike you…"

"I have wasteland experience, and I didn't need to be exiled to learn it" Leon countered. 'What the fuck has gotten into these two?' Vincent wondered.

"No, you only had to fuck the wrong people, right. Or was it to preserve your family's_ honor_?" Nate added icily. Palmer grimaced.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about _honor_! You wouldn't know honor if _it fucked you in the ass_! "

"Ah yes, name calling. I shouldn't have expected better from a Sforza. It seems that some things never change."

Leon turned a murderous shade of red. "Don't you fucking start! The Turchins-"

"LEON! GO OUTSIDE! NOW!" Vincent's roar was fierce, and several patrons who had stopped to observe the fight between the outsider and Nate jumped in their seats.

Leon got up from his bench and stormed outside. Ginny got up followed him out, giving Nate a sympathetic glance.

Nate turned back to Vincent. "I am sorry, but I must decline your offer. I can't waste what I have here, and I'm even less inclined to join you with that _жопа_ in your group."

Nate gave his regards to Palmer and Mirza and left the Diner.

Vincent, Palmer, Mirza, Barnaby, Josiah and Siobhan were left sitting in their large booth.

Vincent turned to face Mirza. "You want to tell me what the fuck that was about?"

Mirza looked just as surprised as Vincent was. "I… have no idea. I never realized that they ever had a problem."

Palmer shook his head. "It goes back a lot further than just Nate and Leon."

"How so?" Vincent asked. "They both mentioned each other's last names. Family issues?"

Palmer nodded. "I don't know how much history you know, but the Sforzas and the Turchins were essentially the Hatfields and Mccoys of Rivet City."

"Did they intermarry as well?" Vincent asked.

Palmer looked taken aback, but kept his original train of thought. "No, this wasn't quite the same. The disputes started in the early years of Rivet City. In the early years there were several families involved with the uplift of the ship from a military science vessel to a post-war settlement. The families included were the Danvers, the Holmes, the Washingtons, my mother's family the Olbrys, and of course-"

"The Sforzas and the Turchins." Vincent finished. Palmer nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Now to understand the animosity of the two families, you have to understand their backgrounds. The Sforzas were a military family with multiple children in the armed forces. Their family was Roman Catholic. They were driven by honor and duty, much like my own family was. Is."

Palmer pauses for a moment, as if remembering more than just ancient history. He continues to recite what he knows.

"The Turchins were political dissidents from the Soviet Union, who fled the country and established themselves in Washington DC. They were a family of artists and thinkers, crafters and debaters. They had fled from Russia to practice their hobbies, and their religion in peace. You see, the Turchins were Russian Orthodox Christians. I'll give you the abridged version for the sake of your sanity: They were two ideologically different branches of the same religious tree. The Roman Catholic families were less than pleased to pray alongside people they believed to be heretics."

"With all of these factors put in place, it isn't too surprising to see that the families fought with each other like they did. Pre-war paranoia and suspicion made people judge the Turchins. Mind you, this wasn't as bad post-war, where people had bigger problems than worry about than communist spies and the like. Of course, when society was rebuilt aboard Rivet City, the Turchins found themselves pushed out of the founding council. They were relegated to jobs in the maintenance department and basically kept there. "

Mirza shoots Palmer a harsh glance. "Shammas, I said nothing disparaging. Stop giving me that look or I will knock it off your face."

Mirza retreats, much to the amusement of Siobhan and Vincent. Palmer continues with his story.

"This carried on for decades. The Sforzas were always serving in the security forces and in collusion with the Council. The Turchins were basically kept in the maintenance department, despite their desire to work with the Science team and in the other areas of the city. The Sforzas protested this, most likely out religious differences and concern over their own positions. By the time Nate and Leon's grandparents were born, the feud was nearing its peak."

"Nate's grandfather and Leon's grandfather apparently got into a massive fight in the marketplace one day over some trifle or another. No one can even remember what they were fighting about. It ended with Nikolai Turchin killing Leonardo Sforza, Leon's namesake. Annette Holmes and the rest of the council, which included Brad Danvers and Horace Pinkerton, moved to expel Nikolai Turchin from the ship. The measure passed."

"The next day the entire Turchin family left for the wasteland. No one checked on them or had any correspondence with them. That happened nearly fifty years ago. Hell, I was a teenager when Leon was born, so this is all history that has been passed on from mouth to mouth."

"Leonardo's widowed wife and sons were treated with the utmost respect following the incident, and would most likely have remained that way were it not for Leon's… escapades. Nate showed up about a year ago. He didn't reveal his last name for several months, but by the time he did, he was such an asset that no one wanted to drag up old history. Leon and Nate moved in different circles, so it's not surprising that they never interacted with each other. But given their reputations it isn't surprising to see how they knew each other."

Palmer stopped and took a swig of his beer. Vincent noted that he had been drinking a fair amount since Leon informed him of Harkness' ruse back in Underworld.

"So you are telling me that several generations of bullshit family fighting is what is preventing us from recruiting this kid?"

Palmer shook his head. "That's just part of it. Nate has always been very pragmatic. In some fitting irony, Nate and Leon are very similar. Both are strong savers, both are dedicated to their families, both have strong… appetites for the flesh." Palmer spat out the words.

Josiah perked up. "He didn' strike me as a ladykiller."

Palmer stared at Josiah as if he were the stupidest man in the world. "Really?"

Siobhan actually started giggling. Barnaby let a wry smile spread across his lips.

It took Vincent a second to figure it out as well. _Oh_.

Mirza shook his head. "That kid practically slept at Flak and Shrapnel's every time he visited the ship. They weren't particularly quiet either." Mirza shuddered, as if recalling a terrifying memory.

Vincent shook it off. "I don't give a flying_ fuck_ who he sleeps with. I just need to know if he's the best man we can get for this job."

"Well firstly, Rivet City is pretty much it in terms of technical know-how. Apart from the Brotherhood at least, and I doubt they will be too keen on letting us borrow one of their scribes."

"Secondly, the Turchins were the epitome of Mechanical know-how. They may not have liked being stuck in Maintenance, but they were damn good at their jobs there. And Nate isn't just a good Turchin mechanic. He's _the_ best mechanic I've ever seen. I'm shocked that the Brotherhood didn't take in his family simply on their merit."

Vincent thought about his options. He knew that working without a full time master at arms would be pointless.

They would need every fighter to be pulling their weight in order to be able to turn a profit for the first few months. Even if they did their own maintenance, it would take them hours to keep every weapon in tip-top shape for their missions.

Vincent thought about every raider he had ever taken down. They had been defeated because Vincent had been a better fighter, yes, but they had also lost because they were using weak weapons that were in poor condition. Guns that jammed and misfired were common sights in Raider camps, and it often caused the death of them. The Mercenaries wouldn't be able to afford a misfire or jam for their missions.

There was also the matter of armor. Mercenaries made their living off of killing dangerous creatures of dealing with them while fulfilling their missions. It was a necessity to have well up kept armor in order to simply survive a fight.

A Master at Arms made it his mission to keep armor and weapons in perfect condition. Lazarus went on at lengths about Kali, the Mistress at Arms of his group. He credited his life to Kali's expertise and skill on more than one occasion.

He needed to get Nate on their team. There was merely the matter of how...


	17. Fools Rush In

**This chapter took forever to write and edit. I do hope you guys won't dislike it, but I won't be wounded if you don't find it up to snuff with my other chapters.**

* * *

The group was allowed to spend the night in the makeshift common house, which was set up in a ruined officer building.

Before they bunked down, Vincent asked Leon to take a walk with him. Leon grudgingly accepted, knowing Vincent was going to chew him out for his performance at the diner today.

He was correct in his assumption.

"Leon, I've had your side since we met in Megaton. You've been nothing but helpful in the last week and a half I have known you. Honestly, without you I don't think I would be here right now. If you think I am buttering you up, then you are full of shit."

Leon withheld a snarky comment about Vincent brownnosing.

"But you need to work with me on this. Nate is the best, and we can have nothing but the best if we are going to form an effective company."

Leon thought it over for a moment. He did not doubt for a second that Turchin had the skills the group needed, but he'd be damned if he let Vincent bring him on.

"We could go to the brotherhood…"

"No. You know better than I do that the brotherhood won't be of help to us."

"Well he cannot be the only mechanic in the wasteland."

"Leon, damn it listen to me!" Vincent wasn't going to let Leon get on with his bullshit logic.

"Mirza told me a story about Nate: Mirza once brought Nate in to fix water filtration system in the Science Lab. Dr. Li had run out of options, otherwise she wouldn't let, and I quote Mirza, "A filthy waste lander into her lab." When Dr. Li asked him about his qualifications, he told her he had never worked with a purifier_ in his life_. Nate looked at the system, pointed out the flaw, taught the scientists how to correct it, _and then_ he recalibrated it to filter the water even better than it had before. This kid isn't just the best possible repair specialist. He _is_ the best period."

Leon was quiet. "I don't trust him."

"Do you think I trusted Palmer? Do you think I trust Josiah? Hell, do you think I trust Barnaby, with his vague allusions to his past life and his fucking mannerisms?! NO! I didn't trust Palmer but I do now. The jury's still out on the other two, but I'll be damned if I don't give them the chance. How can I form an opinion of them if I remain biased? I can't Leon. So I have to let them prove themselves worthy of my trust."

"Now, I need you to make nice with Nate. Then we can work on actually getting him to join us for the right reasons."

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me Vincent! You want me to play nice with him?! He killed my grandfather-"

Vincent punched him. "Like hell he did. His _grandfather_ killed him over a dispute."

"Does it matter? All Turchins are the same. Greedy, dishonest, selfish."

Vincent hit Leon again. "You aren't getting the picture here, are you? I'm not _asking_ you to make nice. I am telling you to. This feud? It's gone. Nate's moved on from his family, and you've moved on from yours. Rivet City is behind all of us. If Jaroslav "Holier than thou." Palmer can willingly leave his city in the dust then so can you."

Leon's angry face broke and he snickered at the reference to Palmer.

Beyond that Vincent had a point. His mother had disowned him, his sisters refused to talk to him. He doubted he'd ever get to see Rivet City again.

So why was he pissed at Nate again?

Vincent could see Leon's resolve breaking. With a hearty sigh Leon looked back to Vincent.

"Okay, I'll go offer the olive branch or whatever. Just don't expect me to get on my knees for him."

Vincent smirked. "Careful now! You never know what concessions Nate will ask of you!"

"Oh gross!" Leon recoiled.

Vincent merely snickered. He knew he had Leon now. The two men returned to the Common House, where Leon would tuck in for the night and Vincent would spend most of the night discussing plans with Ginny. And fooling around with Ginny. After all, that was to be expected.

* * *

"Nate, I'm sorry for acting like a dick yesterday. And I would like to move on from that."

Nate did not look at all convinced. "I grew up in a fucking shack! I had to fight for food every day of my life! All of this could have been fucking avoided-"

"Nate I know!"

"Like hell you do! You grew up a pampered son of Rivet City!"

Vincent interceded. "Nate, stop this petty bullshit. _Neither_ of you were born by the time all of this started. Leon is not only _not_ responsible for your situation, he is personally apologizing for his family's actions. Get off your damned high horse and think beyond this feud."

Nate looked at Vincent. "Don't you get it? My family is gone. I lost them to raiders years ago. If they hadn't been kicked out, they would still be alive!"

Vincent snarled back at Nate.

"Don't even _try_ that line of thinking. Look at Palmer. Hell, everyone here has lost family to the wasteland. Also, your family wasn't kicked out. Your grandfather was kicked out. They chose to follow him into the wasteland after he murdered Leonardo Sforza."

"My point is that _shit happens_. Here is what I am asking of you: I want you to join us, not because I'm greedy for talent. Don't get me wrong, I _am_ greedy for fucking talent. I want to best of the best to run with me."

"No, I want you to join us because I think we can make the wasteland a better place."

Nate was about to respond to Vincent when the roar of gunfire erupted all around them.

"TALON COMPANY!" one of the sentries yelled before being mowed down.

* * *

Grayditch contained three separate entrances and exits to the settlement: Two were downward sloping ramps within running distance of each other while the third was gate facing the north.

By Vincent's estimation, The Talon Company was attacking from the ramps. Given that Vincent couldn't hear any gunfire coming from the North gate, he believed that the Talons hadn't decided to surround the town.

The group had been outside of the diner when the fighting erupted, and less than twenty feet away were the Talon mercenaries, attacking the settlers and sentries alike.

"Nate!" Vincent yelled to the handyman. "Gather the settlers and noncombatants to the North gate!

Nate nodded and surprisingly unholstered a Shanxi pistol from his belt.

Vincent's companions were already moving towards the advancing mercenaries, and Vincent was ready to kick some serious ass.

Palmer, Ginny and Siobhan had advanced to the nearest ramp, while Leon, Barnaby, Mirza and Josiah moved to the further ramp.

Palmer had unholstered his rifle and was calmly picking off Mercenaries left and right. Siobhan was leaping from cover to cover, trying not to get shot. Ginny…

If Vincent thought Ginny was dangerous before, then she was practically Deathclaw now.

Talon Armor could withstand .357 rounds. Unfortunately, Ginny was shooting at their faces. From dozens of feet away. And hitting them.

Not that it was making a considerable difference. There were dozens of Talon Mercenaries, and they were relentless.

As Vincent picked them off however, he noticed a recurring trend: Most of them were either injured or battle worn. If it were just a few of the Mercenaries, it wouldn't have surprised Vincent very much.

But it wasn't just a handful of the Mercenaries. It seemed as though every other Talon was sporting bandages or severely damaged armor. There was also the matter of their attack. It made no sense. The Mercenaries obviously hadn't surrounded the town, otherwise they would have been flanked by now. No, they were only attacking the two ramps head on. Head on, as in throwing everything at the Grayditch defenders in an attempt to get in.

But why would they need to get inside…

*BOOM*

The further ramp was engulfed in fire, and out of the fire emerged the Paladins.

Suddenly it made sense. These mercenaries were retreating from the Brotherhood.

"PUSH THEM BACK!" Vincent yelled. By now Siobhan was in the midst of the Talon Mercenaries, striking at any and every enemy with equal ferocity. Palmer had moved out from behind his barricade and was picking off any Mercenary that was putting up a fight.

When several Brotherhood Sentry Bots rolled down the closer ramp, the battle stopped being a battle and started being a cleanup.

All in all, more than sixty mercenaries lay dead or dying around Grayditch. Grayditch lost twenty-five defenders, but thanks to the quick thinking of Nate Turchin, the remaining population was either successfully moved to the fortified north gate or remained holed up in their residences.

Vincent wasn't expecting anything at this point, because the battle had left him without thought.

So when Teo Caceres began striding towards him, all Vincent could do was laugh.

"Are you all right Vincent?" Teo asked, concern flashing through his eyes.

"Yeah… just… what the fuck was this all about?!"

Teo had holstered his Laser Pistol and explained everything to Vincent: The Brotherhood was attempting to secure their holdings in the south of Arlington, and in the process they hit one of the foremost Talon strongholds in the Capital wasteland. Apparently the forces that attacked Grayditch were the remains of a larger force that had fled north, along the other side of Arlington in an attempt to escape the Brotherhood. Teo was one of a handful of scribes assigned alongside some hotshot unit called the "Lyon's Pride" to track down and eliminate the remnants.

Vincent, Teo and the rest of the Diner Ramp's defenders moved towards the further ramp, where the remainder of the Mercenaries were waiting, alongside this "Lyon's Pride" That Teo was talking about.

A stern looking, but attractive blonde Paladin was shouting commands to her team.

Dr. Barnaby was treating wounded settlers alongside the other scribes.

Nate was consoling a young boy off to the side. The young boy was crying and at his feet laid a body, wrapped in a spare sheet.

Vincent had to look away, painful memories threatening to surge over him.

The blonde Paladin was shouting at her compatriots who were very tense. A standoff between Leon and the other Mercenaries and several burly Paladins was ongoing.

"He's with us, just back off and let him do his job!" Mirza shouted

"Unlikely. No, Ghouls are wasteland abominations and need to be slain."

"The Doctor is with is, and if you have a problem with him, you have a problem with us." Leon said defiantly.

The oldest Paladin, a blonde man with a buzz cut and a patchy goatee, shook his head at Leon. "Stand aside waste lander." His grip on his laser rifle tightened.

"Back off of my men Paladin or I will end you!" Vincent shouted at the blonde man.

"Colvin! Just what the hell is going on?!" The stern female shouted at the sallow blonde Paladin.

"Sentinel! There is a Ghoul in need of purging tending to the wounded!"

"I can see that. Why haven't you gotten to it?" The Sentinel was in no mood to beat around the bush.

"Because I will kill him if he moves!" Vincent threw back the woman.

The Sentinel appraised Vincent and his now assembled gang. Nate was moving the crying boy away from the scene of the standoff. Barnaby continued to treat patients, either unaware of the situation or ignoring it outright.

"Sentinel Lyons?" Colvin asked, as if all needed was her word before he began firing.

Vincent and the Sentinel locked eyes: no one moved for three whole minutes. All eyes were on the dueling leaders.

"Sentinel Lyons?" Now Teo was posing a question to the Sentinel.

"Speak."

Teo looked intimidated, which would have given Vincent some major insight into who he was dealing with if he was able to see Teo's at the moment.

"This is Vincent Kayser, and his friends. The one with the black hair? Leon Sforza. I would advise not shooting them."

"And why is that Scribe Caceres?" Lyons hissed.

"Because you won't win."

That definitely took Vincent aback. Both he and Lyons tore their gazes away from each other and towards Teo. In fact, every pair of eyes were set on Teo.

"Are you mad Caceres?" A burly Hispanic paladin asked the scribe.

"No, just logical. Look around you."

Vincent hadn't had time to note the situation, but the rest of Grayditch's inhabitants were gathered around the Lyon's Pride. They were wielding weapons and had nothing but contempt in their eyes.

Nate was leading them. "Talon Mercenaries don't make half assed raids on towns. They were driven here. How coincidental, that Grayditch suffers the largest attack of Talon Mercs in years and _you_ show up hot on their heels. Don't you _dare_ deny it Sentinel, you drove a bunch of homicidal, ruthless killers into Grayditch. The deaths of these people? They are on your head. And while you stand around acting superior to us, _superior_ to Doctor Barnaby here, just remember that that "abomination" went straight from shooting Talons to treating patients. Even your scribes stopped to check on the _robots_ first before tending to the wounded. You so much as look at him wrong, any of them _wrong." _Nate paused, letting the fury in his eyes shower on the Sentinel. "And _we_ will end you. Think about that."

The Sentinel was staring at Nate, but not with the same challenging look she gave to Vincent: This look was filled with regret. Vincent had been a challenge. Nate had been the truth.

"Stand down Colvin."

"But Sent-"

"STAND, DOWN!" The Sentinel seethed. Colvin seemed to shrink.

Vincent would have found it amusing at any other time.

"Sentinel?" Caceres said.

"What is it Scribe Caceres?" The Sentinel's voice was irritated and weary. The Pride and scribes were packing up and leaving.

"I'm not coming back to the Citadel. Tell my mother I am sorry, but I am needed here in the wasteland. Grayditch is one of many settlements that is attacked on a regular basis, and I cannot handle locking myself up in the Citadel while so many still suffer. "

The Sentinel gave a long, hard look at the Scribe. "I am sorry to hear that. I wish you the best of luck in the wasteland Teodoro."

Teo nodded. "I am sorry things had to end this way Sentinel. But I have to do more for the wasteland."

The Sentinel nodded. "Somehow I don't think my father will be too unhappy about that. You will be missed however."

And with that the Sentinel and her Pride departed, leaving their mess behind them.

* * *

A small vigil was held for the slain inhabitants that night.

The next morning Vincent and the mercenaries departed, with Teo Caceres and Nate Turchin in tow.

They were going back to Megaton, and after they would arrive the real work would begin.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Make sure to review! ;D**


	18. The Gaunt Man

This is a very fun chapter. Here you get to meet some new faces, and conceivably one of the biggest badasses in the Cowboys. Also there is plot and all that, but yeah fun stuff! Enjoy! :)

* * *

A quick day of travel passed before the group arrived back in Megaton. On the way back the group was accosted by a Giant Radscorpion.

While most waste landers would have run away in terror, the Mercenaries merely bared their teeth.

Twenty minutes later, the group was on its way no worse for wear.

"Is it true that Megaton was built around an Atomic bomb?" Nate asked. Since departing Grayditch the young mechanic had found common ground with both Teo and Ginny, and spent most of the trip either talking about mechanics with Teo or talking about Wasteland adventures… and boys with Ginny.

"Yeah. It's still fucking armed as well. There is a whole church built around the bomb and a man stands right next to it and preaches."

Nate's eyes widened. "That sounds…"

"Yeah we all think he's fucking crazy too Nate." Leon says, trying to insert himself into the conversation.

Nate slightly smiles. Vincent notes that he at least appreciates the effort Nate is putting into not despising Leon. It's a good start.

Upon arriving at the front gates, Vincent is greeted by none other than the big man himself.

"Good to see you kid." Lazarus looks to the remainder of his group. "Well at least you kept yourself busy."

Vincent grins. "Of course. Lazarus, you've already met Virginia and Leon." Vincent states. Lazarus nods to them both.

"The big guy in the combat armor is Jaroslav Palmer, he's a crack shot and wicked fighter. The Scribe is Teodoro Caceres. He's a robotics expert who left the Brotherhood to join us. Meanwhile Mr. Pompadour in the back is a scientist with some serious hacking skills. He's a decent shot too."

"Mirza Shammas." 'Mr. Pompadour' provided helpfully.

"The Ghoul is Doctor Albert Barnaby. He patched me up after a long fight in the DC Metro." Lazarus raises his eyebrow but allows Vincent to continue. "The redhead is Josiah-"

At this moment Josiah speaks up. "Josiah Hunter Johnston. Momma called me Jesse up till a Lurk got her."

"Right. He's from a swampland to the south. He's a decent shot and a colorful character. The girl with the pixie cut is Siobhan Dunleavy. She's the best hand to hand fighter I've seen Lazzy. She's also from across the ocean."

"Finally the blonde in the jumpsuit is Nate Turchin. He's a crack mechanic we picked up yesterday from Grayditch."

Lazarus nods solemnly. "Good work Vince. I put out some calls an got us a meeting with a power broker from Tenpenny Tower. Calls himself Margulies. He said he had some potential candidates that we could look over, Demolitionists, scouts and the like."

Vincent nodded. "Sounds good. When do we meet him?"

"Now. He's waiting for you right in this house." Lazarus pointed to a large two story building to the left of the entrance to Megaton.

It was around nine o'clock at night, and most of the group was ready to pass out. Vincent sent Palmer, Siobhan, Nate, "Jesse", Dr. Barnaby, and Mirza to Moriarty's to get some rest. He motioned for Ginny, Leon and Teo to stay with him.

"Ready to go see what Lazarus dug up?" Vincent asked.

"I'll admit to being curious, but why am I here?" Teo asked.

"Brotherhood Scribe. Like it or not Teo, you're kind of a big deal. This kind of thing doesn't happen often, right?"

"Desertion? Not usually. If you think I should tag along I will."

"Good. Now I don't know what to expect, but if Lazarus has vetted these guys, then I don't think we'll have too much to worry about."

Vincent clapped Lazarus on the shoulder. "Right big guy?"

The big man scoffed. "No, the only thing I have to worry about is you mouthing off."

The five proceeded into the house chuckling.

* * *

Seven individuals were milling about when Vincent opened the door.

Centered against the back of the room was an armchair with a thin, business suited man sitting upright in it. He was writing furiously on some kind of clipboard.

"Mr. Kayser. Good of you to see us at this hour." The man said in clipped tones. It was proper, unaccented English.

Vincent got a quick look at the other six individuals:

Most noticeable was a massive man standing behind the businessman. He would have stood above Palmer, who was a mountain. Adding to his height was a massive spiked Mohawk. He had a tanned face with a pointed nose and light brown eyes. Donned in ridiculous metal armor from head to toe, the man was not particularly happy to see Vincent. Vincent would have to figure out what that look meant during their meeting.

A tall, nubile looking woman stood on the other side of the armchair. She was dark, with jet black hair that cascaded down her face in waves. She was garbed in some form fitting armor. It looked very technical, with various metal pieces and electronics wired into the suit. On each of her hips was a high-tech looking pistol, and the hilt of a sword was visible from behind her back. She eyed Vincent with nothing but tactics before looking at Teo. Recognition flickered in her eyes.

"Anais?" Teo whispered as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Two smaller individuals were standing to the right of the massive man. One was a scraggly blonde girl with very revealing clothing and a baseball cap. The boy next to her looked even younger than Nate and was clothed in leather armor similar to Ginny's.

The two individuals on the dark girl's left however had the attention behind him. One was a younger man in olive combat armor. Various grenades were attached to a bandoleer slung across his chest, and what appeared to be a missile launcher was strapped to his back.

As impressive as this was, the man beside him was the one his attention snapped to above all others.

He was middle aged, with a short Mohawk on his head. It was a patch of hair, as opposed to the large spikes adorning the head of the giant.

A large handlebar mustache set a short, jowly face. Squinted eyes looked on at Vincent, noting the combat armor underneath Vincent's duster.

It looked a lot like the armor the man was wearing. Right down to the white talon etched on the man's breast.

Vincent knew what was about to happen as if her were a psyker:

Ginny had her revolver drawn and on the man in less than a heartbeat.

Anais had her pistols drawn nearly at the same time, one on Ginny, the other on Teo

Leon had his rifle drawn and placed on short Mohawk.

"Enough! Ginny, Leon stand down!" Vincent shouted. He was making a wonderful impression.

The businessman smiled. "Yes, let's allow cooler heads to prevail my dear." He said, patting Anais shoulder.

Everyone holstered their weapons.

"Mr. Kayser, allow me to introduce myself: My name is Haskel Margulies, I worked as an associate of Alistair Tenpenny, Businessman and land owner."

Teo scoffed. "Land Baron more likely."

Haskel's face did not change, but Vincent could feel the irritation rolling off of Haskel.

"I was contacted by your partner, Lazarus, recently. He was actually using a number of my predecessor Burke. I was intrigued by his proposition, and agreed to do pull some files on several contacts of mine."

"Allow me to introduce them. This lovely lady is-"

"Anais Viray, Knight First Order of the Brotherhood of Steel." Teo finished. "What, get bored working with Casdin as well? How many bosses are you going to betray before one of them gets the better of you?" Teo snarled at her.

Of course Vincent would pick the one member of his group who would happen to have a grudge match. "Teo, I would like to hear Mr. Margulies finish before casting aspersions."

Teo looked pleadingly at Vincent. He must have known some pretty horrific things about Anais for him to be speaking out as he was. Then again, Vincent figured Teo to be the kind of guy who spoke out at meetings.

Mr. Margulies continued. "The large fellow to my right is named Sledge. He doesn't speak much, but he is very obedient. Fighting is in his blood."

"The… young lady goes by the name Becca. She is a competent scout. The young man is Felix, another scout. He is vastly proficient for his age."

"The two gentlemen on my left are Rafael and Jaxon. Both have extensive demolitions expertise, while Jaxon is also a proficient sniper and combat trainer."

"As you can see, he was formerly of the Talon Company, but he has left their service after a rather… intense struggle with several of his compatriots."

With the possible exception of Anais, not a single member around Margulies looked like he would associate with. Contrastingly, all of them looked at him not with disdain, but with fear, save the calculating Anais. To be fair, that girl looked to be afraid of _nothing_.

Even Sledge, who looked like he could break Margulies with a shove, was eying him warily.

"All of them are interested in joining your mercenary company. All of them are talented and capable of following orders."

Vincent looked around the room at the assembled faces. "Yes, I can see that they have talent, and yes I see that they can be made subservient. But how can I trust them? What do you think Leon?"

Leon moved from group member to group member. "Jaxon, is a former mercenary of the Talon Company. I don't know where you got Rafael from, but I doubt he came from the most ethical of fields if he considers carrying a missile launcher around to be subtle. Becca and Felix look like nice kids, but looks are skin deep. Sledge." Here Leon decided that a chuckle would be a good method of displaying his feelings. Sledge glared at him. "Sledge? Exactly what raider camp did you pull him out of? I've seen nicer looking Ferals than him."

"And Anais. Ahh Anais. What a pretty name for a pretty face. Don't think I'm stupid little Anais. I know all about Casdin and the Outcasts. I know my history, and you are perhaps the oiliest of the bunch. Regardless of skill and armament."

Leon turned back to Haskel. "Alistair Tenpenny is practically a Crime lord. He strong-arms wasteland communities; he regularly employs the Talons for useful activities. And that's all while forgetting the most important part: Alistair Tenpenny does nothing for free."

Haskel's face never changed as Leon leveled his accusations at the group. Once Leon had finished Haskel began to talk. "Tenpenny clearly needs a new assistant. I never said that I was working for him at the present. My time with him is over. Believe what you will, but do know that I am finished working for the man."

Haskel gestured to the rest of the group. "These individuals are all looking for something. Jaxon and Sledge want amnesty and an escape from their past lives. Rafael, Felix and Becca want to begin new lives. Anais, well some people just enjoy their line of work. But regardless of your thoughts or the lack of trust you place in these individuals, do know that they came to me when they heard about your offer. The boy who wanted to reform the wasteland through mercenary vigilantism. They want in Mr. Kayser, and telling them anything but yes would be to deny them their skills."

Vincent leveled a very, very harsh look at Haskel. "Everyone here but the exception of yourself has some skill that I need. What need do I have of one of Tenpenny's washed up bitc-"

Three throwing knives sailed around Vincent's head before landing in the doorway behind him. In a flash, Haskel was there, in front of him. Magnum drawn and pressed against his temple, while a massive combat knife was pressed against his neck.

Vincent didn't flinch, but he would be lying if he wasn't impressed.

Seconds after Haskel's attack Ginny had her own revolver drawn and on the Businessman.

"As I said, I was a trusted associate of Alistair Tenpenny. Men such as myself are required to be versatile."

Vincent grinned. "Like this?"

*crunch*

Vincent had lifted his right foot off of the ground and allowed himself to fall back ever so slightly, in an instant he had tucked his foot behind Haskel's knee and pulled him forward. Haskel, caught momentarily off balance, lowered his grip on his weapons, wherein Vincent proceeded to unsheathe his knife and press it tightly up against Haskel's neck.

"I get it. You're a hardass and a wicked fighter. You've been able to scare these kids shitless with your antics. You're used to having your way, and perhaps you even thought you could get me to back down and hand the reins over to you." Vincent whispered in Haskel's ear.

"But that won't happen. It isn't just about your wonderful, and I do mean wonderful, skills. I mean beyond that. Even if I weren't a better fighter than you, and let's not kid ourselves here because I am, you would still need to earn the trust of my people before you could take over the group. Now, are we going to stop this alpha male posturing or do I need to piss all over your fancy pre-war suit before you get my point?"

Haskel was quiet for a moment. The whole room was quiet. Vincent could probably hear a pin drop.

"All right Mr. Kayser. I concede defeat. I won't try anything else on you."

"Good, because if you did Lazarus would destroy you. If you think Sledge is tough, wait until you see Lazzy in action. Also, it's _Vincent_."

Vincent released Haskel from his grip, and the young businessman calmly moved back towards his armchair.

"Now, there is one other matter I would like to discuss with you Vincent."

"Yes Haskel?"

"I believe I have the perfect base of operations in mind for our group."

* * *

Please review! I love to hear your feedback! Very much so! :D


	19. The Road to Ridgefield

I am sorry for the wait faithful readers. Between the holidays and spending time with my family I sort of forgot about the story. I promise you now that you have my undivided... What's that you say Bioware? Omega DLC comes out today?

*orders more XBL Points*

In all seriousness, I will be more frequent with my updates from now on. This chapter is more of a plot mover. Not a lot of fun stuff in here, and I just needed it in order to get from point A to point B.

The next chapter will be a firecracker!

* * *

"Minefield? What the hell kind of name is that for a town?" Siobhan asked inquisitively.

"It's just a moniker the local population gave the town. The local history is this:" Haskel informed the group.

"Under the leadership of Hamon Jurley Slavers out of Paradise Falls raided a nearby suburb known as Ridgefield. Ridgefield was moderately untouched by the bombs, so it played host to several families seeking refuge from the wastes. Over time those families grew to a slightly larger community. Small enough to be vulnerable and large enough to be profitable to a band of Slavers."

"Jurley and his band of Slavers attacked Ridgefield roughly ten years after the town had been settled. They killed less than half the population and enslaved the rest. At least so they thought-"

Ginny jumped into the conversation. "For _decades_ Waste Landers, Merchant Caravans, Raiders, and even Slavers have been killed trying to scavenge through the Minefield. Over the years barricades were set up around most of the town, with natural hills making the north side impassable. With only a narrow corridor available, most scavengers just waltz through the front and get their legs blown off by mines. There are also rumors of a phantom sniper-"

"No. Not a phantom. A real man, nicknamed Arkansas, is the alleged 'Ghost of Ridgefield.'" Haskel finished snidely, as if correcting a child.

The group had left Megaton the following morning after a tense breakfast and a quick resupply at Craterside Supply. They had encountered some vicious but ill prepared raiders just north of Springvale, and were now traveling on a northern road towards the very same bridge Vincent and Lazarus had come over two weeks prior.

If someone had told Vincent two weeks ago that he would be at the helm of a Mercenary Company comprised of a ghoul doctor, a burly and puritanical security guard, a backwater trapper and an Irish girl with a killer right hook, he would have told them that they were clearly huffing the Jet a little hard.

Yet here he was, at the front of the group with Ginny, Leon, and Haskel.

Barnaby, Mirza, Rafael, Nate, Teo and Palmer were behind them with Lazarus, Siobhan, Jaxon, Anais, and Sledge holding the rear.

Felix, Becca and Jesse were all either scouting ahead of the group or along the sides of the party, keeping an eye out for large threats.

Vincent seriously doubted anything would be able to harm their group. Maybe a stampede of Deathclaws.

Maybe.

"The front's all clear Vince." Said a higher pitched voice from next to him.

Vincent barely flinched at the diminutive teenager who was calmly walking next to him. Leon and Ginny both jumped when he started talking.

For all of their reflexes, they weren't very good at being caught off guard.

Vincent had to admit though, this kid was fucking quiet. It was broad daylight, and the group of eighteen was walking through a wide, open plain along a dusty and weather beaten road, and yet this kid had still managed to somehow sneak up on them from _in front_ of their fields of vision.

"Good job Felix. How many more miles to the nearest settlement?" Vincent asked. The new group was slowly growing on him, some more than others.

Haskel was a smooth operator, and while Vincent got the feeling Haskel wasn't used to being beaten, Vincent was sure that the man knew how to follow orders.

Anais remained guarded and cold to the group members who tried to talk to her. After some early observation, Vincent became sure that Ginny and Anais were going to an awful pair to have together.

Sledge wasn't much more social, but Vincent could tell it wasn't from a lack of trying. Most of the team remained very hesitant of approaching the giant. Siobhan and Lazarus were the only two who had gotten a word in with the man. Lazarus was a fairly approachable figure, while Siobhan was a force of nature. Prior to skirmish with the Springvale raiders the two hadn't exchanged a word. Since the fighting, the two were calmly and neutrally talking about preferred killing methods.

It would have been comforting if it hadn't been so damn morbid.

Jaxon was a different kind of problem. The man was chatty, and crass and had little trouble talking to the other team members. Whether they wanted to talk to him or not was an entirely different matter. Ginny avoided him like the plague. Leon, Palmer and Mirza were uncomfortable talking to the man. Siobhan got along all right with the former Talon, but she was a fairly neutral entity on the team.

Rafael had surprised Vincent with his politeness. Vincent could tell he hadn't had much of an education, but he knew his weapons and was at least cordial with the remaining members of the group. He was also very flirtatious with the female members, which yielded some hilarious moments as Anais rebuffed him and Siobhan laughed at him.

He at least had enough sense to not hit on Ginny.

Good man. Vincent wasn't sure he'd be able to find someone with as much

That left the scouts, who had proven to be Vincent's favorite additions to the team.

Becca was born to scavenger parents and had spent the better part of her life running from scrapyard to ruined town to metro station. She was a talented eyed scout and her years of scavenging had left her with a keen eye and a quiet step. She had been scavenging in the settlement of Girdershade for two months before Mister Margulies came around to offer her the job of a lifetime…

Vincent also found her surprisingly bubbly. The girl would chat on about mundane or otherwise frivolous topics with the group when she wandered back to the group. How someone so talkative could also remain so silent was an utter mystery to Vincent.

Felix on the other hand was a shadow.

When Vincent pressed him about his background, he regaled Vincent with stories of the fabled Little Lamplight.

According to Vincent, Lamplight was a settlement founded and run by children under the age of sixteen. Complete with a clinic, school, restaurant and armory, Lamplight served as one of the most fortified and self-sufficient settlements in the Wasteland.

Felix was part of the scavenger teams that combed the Wasteland for supplies and other trade goods. The scavenger teams traveled at night and were famous for their stealth and ability to not get caught.

Vincent was not surprised to learn that Felix was the best of the Lamplight scavengers.

Once Felix turned sixteen his town repaid him by kicking him out and sending him to the adult village of Big Town.

For a whole year Felix lived in Big Town, scavenging for the town and helping them hide whenever Mutants of Slavers came knocking. Until a week ago when a gaunt man in a beige suit came to town and offered Felix a massive amount of money in return for his services…

"Big Town is about a mile away, but it'll take double the normal time given our pace." Felix replied, breaking Vincent's train of thought.

"Good. Let's pick up the pace people!" Vincent yelled back to the group.

* * *

They arrived at Big Town with little trouble. "Big Town" turned out to be a cluster of homes that were all heavily walled and fortified in the center of subdivision. Becca and Jesse were arguing with a tense young man in security armor when they arrived at the entrance. The guard's shoulders lowered when Felix waved at him.

That night the group went over their plans for the following day. Barnaby, Mirza, Teo and Nate would remain at Big Town until they got the all clear signal, in which Leon and several others would come back and escort them to Minefield.

When each of them protested Vincent systematically shot them down:

Nate was at best mediocre with a gun, and his death or crippling would leave the group without a proper armorer.

Mirza was the most computer profficient of the group, and despite learning marksmanship quickly would be incapable of helping the group out beyond supporting fire.

Teo began to protest his appraisal when he learned that Haskel had brokered a payment deal from the Lamplighters: In exchange for several hundred caps, Teo would fix the town's Sentry Bot and three Protectrons.

Vincent moved to tell Barnaby he would remain behind before Barnaby told him that his absence would merely make the death of any injured member that much more likely. Vincent, checked by his logic, acquiesced and allowed the doctor to join in, but only if he stayed back.

When Mirza protested his ability to come along, Vincent explained the stakes of the mission:

They were dealing with at least one highly competent Sniper who held both the high ground and home territory advantages. The area they needed to cover was littered with land mines and other destructive ordinance. They had neither Stealth Boys nor counter sniping weaponry for which to accurately take out Arkansas, and both Haskel and Vincent had prohibited the use of explosive weaponry in order to minimize the damage that they would have to repair after the fighting was done.

Mirza subsequently stopped fighting Vincent and instead offered to help the town's doctor organize her Medical logs and Inventory.

Nate also made some spare caps by providing cheap weapon repairs, and when Vincent watched him work he knew that he had made the right decision in bringing the blonde on board.

The group spent the night lodged in Big Town, eager to get to tomorrow's fighting.

Palmer, Lazarus and Jaxon sat around a fire cleaning their weapons and trading war stories.

Felix caught up with his fellow Big Towners. Siobhan and Sledge both trained in separate areas of the open yard that made up Big Town.

Rafael and Becca snuck off for some muffled but very much audible shenanigans in a tool shed.

Teo, Nate and Mirza spent the night working on the various robots stashed in the Clinic's basement.

Anais was nowhere to be found. No one in the group knew where she had gone. Vincent seemed to be the only one who cared.

Jesse and Leon spent the night drinking and standing guard with Dusty, the much maligned sentry.

Doctor Barnaby neatly organized his medical kit and bartered medical supplies with Red.

Haskel borrowed a desk in the Town Hall and wrote up reports and inventory sheets, calculated supply costs, made notes on contracts and began working out a proper budget for the team.

After Vincent had checked on his group and had given them their marching orders, he moved back to the cot he and Ginny shared in the Common House.

If Rafael and Becca were audible, then Vincent and Virginia were ear shattering.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

And faithful readers, what is your opinion on smut? Right now I just have vague sexual situations, and we will be getting some legitimate sex scenes within the next dozen chapters. I want your opinion on whether we should have them or if they should be kept to a minimum. Review for your content!


	20. Hobo with a Sniper Rifle

All right! Onto a good sized battle, and more character development for you guys!

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Vincent and Haskel had it all planned out:

They would split up into three squads, five members apiece. Lazarus would lead the first squad, the sharpshooters, into drawing Arkansas' fire away from the other two squads. Jaxon would lead the second squad, who would go first and disarm any mines in the path to Arkansas' perch. Then the third group of close quarters fighters led by Vincent would trail the first group and take down Arkansas.

Lazarus, Leon, Jesse, Palmer and Haskel made up the first group who would draw Arkansas into a shootout and hold his attention while the other two groups moved into action.

Jaxon, Rafael, Anais, Felix and Becca made up the second group. They all had experience with disarming explosives or sneaking around traps which made them ideal for clearly the way for the third group.

Vincent, Barnaby, Sledge, Siobhan and Ginny comprised the final group. All five were tenacious fighters in their own rights, and all were prepared for close quarters combat. Given that they were the most likely to sustain an injury during the attack, Barnaby was assigned to work alongside their group and was ready to patch up any injuries that came about from the assault.

The party was preparing to leave when they realized Anais was not with them.

Vincent could not recall seeing her at all the previous night, and she was not present at the briefing they held this morning.

As they took a look around camp, a dusty and slightly worse for wear Anais strolled into Big Town, her face as stony and impassive as ever.

"Where have you been? You missed out on the briefing?" Vincent harshly commanded of the Outcast Assassin.

"Scouting. Cleared a path from here to Minefield and mapped the layout of the town. Undetected." They were the most words Vincent had heard the girl mutter and they came as a complete shock to him.

"You did _what_?!" Vincent shouted at her. Not at all composed but given the rest of his team's reactions, composure was a commodity they were in short supply of.

"Yes. I cleared a moderately sized path to Minefield, then scouted out the Stronghold without being detected."

"How did you do this? What exactly did you clear out for us?"

"Stealth boy." Anais reacted nonchalantly.

"And the path?"

"Two small groups of super mutants, a pack of wild dogs, several radscorpions, a deranged man with a rocket launcher and a Yao Guai. All taken care of, although the Mutants gave me some scratches." Anais responded calmly.

"That's… Well yes it's impressive. But is it what I asked of you?" Vincent inquired to Anais

Anais cocked her head ever so slightly. "You wanted me to scout the base."

"Yes… Just ask me next time. In the future, before you go off and pull some sneaky commando bullshit please ask one of us first. What if you were seen?"

"I wasn't. I used a stealth boy. Arkansas is holed up in roofless building towards the back of the neighborhood. The interior is understandably laden with Mines, and I didn't get a chance to investigate the houses."

"Give me a man who has never been caught mid stealth field." Lazarus chimed in sagely.

Anais remained impassive. "I wasn't seen and I know how to handle myself."

Vincent's composure stiffened. "First casualty gets docked from your pay."

Almost imperceptibly Anais' eyes widened. Vincent was sure he was the only one who caught it.

She bowed stiffly and moved to join the remainder of the group. As she assimilated into the caravan Vincent turned to his comrades.

"All right! Let's move out!"

* * *

After four hours of walking the group came upon the outskirts of Minefield:

Four houses lay scattered haphazardly amongst a collection of rusted cars and debris palisades.

In the center lay a playground, while near the back of the suburb lay a half ruined, five story concrete building. From what Vincent could see it lacked a roof and a top level, but the remaining floors looked _relatively _stable.

For a post-war building it looked stable. At least enough for a sniper to remain perched on. It was also tall enough to offer an aerial view of the suburb.

The Mercenaries were ready to make their move and began to move into their respective formations. Lazarus led the sharpshooters towards a palisade wall with a clear view of the sniper's perch.

As the other two groups approached the side of the house a loud bang sounded. Arkansas was ready for them.

A chorus of different gunshots rang out from the Palisade: Vincent recognized Lazarus' rifle, Jesse's Lever action rifle, Leon's Chinese Assault Rifle and Palmer's Laser Rifle. The fifth set of bangs must have belonged to Haskel's Magnum.

The Firing wasn't intended to hit Arkansas (Although Vincent was sure that most if not all of the sharpshooters were attempting to do so) but was instead intended to keep him pinned at his post.

Jaxon and the demolitionists, all crouched to the ground, began to work their way through the maze of Mines, diffusing the ones that were in their direct path.

The path before them was a singular road littered with less than a half dozen cars and strewn with Mines.

Arkansas, still unseen by the latter two groups, was still firing on the sharpshooters. Vincent hoped that they were keeping his fire focused solely on him.

Arkansas paused, presumably to reload his clip, and the demolitions team continued clearing a path to the Perch. Vincent and the CQ team were several paces behind them, minding their pathway and the possible mines it entailed. Just because five individuals with moderate explosives experience had combed the path did not mean it was 100% clear of Mines.

A sniper's bullet whizzed past Sledge's head and embedded itself in front of a sedan.

Fuck.

All five CQ members burst forward. At that moment another bullet struck a mine to the right of the demolitions team.

Vincent could hear screaming and fervent swearing. Right now his only goal was to get to the base of the Perch.

The sedan exploded behind them, filling the air with shrapnel and fire. The sharpshooters firing had died down. The CQ's jumped into the ground floor of the Perch.

* * *

Outside was quiet, save for the crackle of fire and the muffled cries of his teammates.

Siobhan assessed her teammates.

Barnaby was readying his medical bag, while Sledge had unholstered his sledgehammer and was advancing towards the staircase.

Ginny had taken some shrapnel to her leg, which Vincent was tending to.

Vincent turned to her and urged her to go on, he'd be right behind her.

Siobhan watched Barnaby tend to Ginny as she raced up the staircase, Power Fist on her hand.

Sledge was moving fairly quietly for such a big man, while Siobhan stayed close to the walls in the building.

It was fairly still, with no sniper's rounds sounding or Mines going off outside. Siobhan took care to avoid several Mines Arkansas had placed inside his Perch.

They ascended the next flight of stairs without issue.

The next floor had an open wall facing out towards the rest of Minefield, while another grimy concrete staircase was on the wall opposite to them.

As Siobhan and Sledge advanced towards the staircase Siobhan heard the snap of a wire and the familiar click of a shotgun being cocked.

"DOWN!" she yelled as she dived to the ground. Sledge merely grunted, allowing his armor to take the majority of the buckshot. As he raced to the staircase, an older man jumped down from the ceiling behind him. Sledge swung his hammer in a 180 degree arc, which the old man sidestepped. Sledge tried to bring the hammer down on the man, but he was simply too quick for Sledge to hit.

Then he was on him. Arkansas had plunged a knife between Sledge's neck and shoulders,

When he turned around he was greeted by Siobhan's right hook. Power Fist and all. As the old man's body crumpled to the ground Siobhan rushed to help Sledge.

"You stay with me big man, I'm not losing you to a little knife."

"Fight. Strong." The large man grunted out. He moved to get up, but was dazed. Siobhan noticed that the buckshot had gone deeper than she had anticipated. Sledge was bleeding everywhere.

"Barnaby! I need aid!"

* * *

The day's fatalities had been none, discounting the possibility that any number of their casualties died in surgery.

The injuries varied. Sledge took what was considered to be the worst of the damage that day, with buckshot breaking several of his ribs and Arkansas knife still plunged in his shoulder.

The doctor raced up the stairs when Siobhan called to him and instantly began to treat the large bruiser.

Becca went and fetched the sharpshooters and navigated them safely towards the Perch, where everyone waited inside in the aftermath.

Josiah had been grazed n his arm when he moved to fire on Arkansas. The damage was steep, but Lazarus fixed him up with a Stimpack. Given that Arkansas could have taken his head off, Josiah counted himself lucky.

Felix had been the unlucky recipient of the Mine detonation. Fortunately he did not lose any limbs. Unfortunately he was shredded by the shrapnel. Barnaby had Felix brought up to the third floor with Sledge so he could work on both patients at once.

For the first time since they found him, Vincent was grateful that he had recruited the esoteric Ghoul. Despite his eccentricities, he was a master surgeon, working with clean instruments and even medical alcohol, a material Vincent hadn't seen since his middle years.

Ginny had been tended to and was healing with her Stimpack.

Haskel moved to speak with Vincent. "Arkansas is dead?" While it was framed as a question, Vincent thought it sounded awfully like a statement.

"Yeah, Siobhan broke him after he stabbed Sledge." The Irish girl was upstairs playing Nurse to Barnaby's Doctor.

"Good. I've instructed Jaxon and Rafael to begin sweeping for Mines." Haskel stated. Vincent didn't mind Haskel giving out orders he would have given out himself. Haskel was already shaping up to be a strong contender as one of his Lieutenants once they were settled.

"Well done. Now, we need to bring the specialists back here."

"Is waiting until the morning out of the question?"

"Big Town may be hospitable, but by no means is it the safest place to be. I'd rather not take our chances losing three of our most important members to Slaver or Mutant raid. Take Josiah, Lazarus and Anais with you to the town and escort them back here."

Vincent needed input from the team's engineers as to proper base defenses. Palisades were good for keeping Mole Rats out but they were going to do shit against anything bigger.

"At once Vincent." Haskel stiffly bowed and went to assemble his party.

"Still kicking Vince?" Came Leon's voice from the entrance.

Grinning, Vincent shot back. "Are you? I asked for sharpshooters! Not whatever the fuck that was out there!"

Leon laughed but as he approached Vincent his mood darkened ever so slightly.

"Ginny may be the fast shot, but I'm the sure shot. Something was up with that guy Vincent, because Lazarus and Josiah are practically snipers, Palmer is a good shot, and Haskel even had a scope on his weapon. We couldn't get a bead on him. He'd pop out of cover and fire a round pretty much at one of us, and by the time we got a chance to fire back he was just _gone_. Are you sure Siobhan got him?"

"Leon, she hit him at point blank range with her Power Fist. He didn't even have armor on. Besides, she's up there with Sledge and Felix. If he managed to survive and is trying to kill them, he'll have to get through her first."

"Okay Vince." Leon said. He quietly moved over to Ginny, who was busy working on a locked ammunition box.

Vincent moved upstairs to talk to Barnaby. He had the sinking feeling this would be a very long day, with a very long night to follow.

* * *

Writing this chapter was not fun, but I powered through it. The next few chapters are what I am looking forward to, and I do believe you will enjoy them as well ;)

Thanks for reading! :D Please review!


	21. In the Heat of the Moment

Whew. This one got HUGE!

Part of the problem was not wanting to split this into two chapters, so instead of getting two smaller chapters you will simply have to deal with one gargantuan chapter.

This isn't terribly heavy on the action, well at least not the violent kind. There's some character development and the like, but not as much as I would have liked. Next chapter will get the team back towards missions and other action-y things.

But for now, Enjoy!

* * *

Haskel returned in the late evening with his team and an unharmed Teo, Mirza and Nate. Accompanying them were also three pack brahmin loaded with materials.

Jaxon and Rafael had cleared out the mines around the suburb and were busy moving the stable Felix and Sledge into the basement of one of the houses, which Barnaby had begun to set up as his clinic.

That night, with everyone gathered Vincent laid down the chain of command. Barnaby had stabilized the two patients, and had even removed the knife from Sledge's shoulder. Barnaby didn't even inject Med-X into sledge as he removed the knife. Sledge didn't make a sound, apart from slightly hitched breathing.

Tough bastard.

"All right, here is how this is going to work. Haskel, Leon and I have formed a proper organizational chart in terms of rankings. Before you go about spouting corruption or whatever misgivings you may have, do know that Lazarus, Ginny, Teo, and Doctor Barnaby looked over the list and gave input. You've been placed where you are solely on the basis of your ability to lead. Your pay will not be determined by your rank, but instead it will be determined by your role within the company and the missions you undertake. Any questions?"

"What about the on-base specialists such as Teo and I?" Nate asked.

"You will be expected to go on missions where your expertise is needed; otherwise you will remain on base to tend to your responsibilities. Again, the pay varies from member to member, and will fluctuate based on your actions."

"The fuck does that mean?" Jaxon asked. He wasn't one for flowery words.

"It means if you do stupid shit we'll dock your pay." Leon interjected.

"Leon's spot on. Anais is already feeling the burn of paying for the medical equipment used to treat Sledge and Felix."

The Outcast glared at Vincent but otherwise remained silent. Vincent knew he was being harsh, but fuck if he was going to let his squad walk all over him. Anais would learn to play within the box, or he would find another specialist to replace her.

Assuming he could actually kill her.

"Of course, outstanding behavior will be rewarded as well. Service in the field or on base will result in additional pay and special privileges."

"Any other questions?"

The group remained silent. "Good. Now onto the rankings."

Haskel stepped forward and pulled out a thin sheet of paper. "Vincent Kayser, Captain. Highest Ranked."

"Leon Sforza, 1st Lieutenant. Second highest ranked."

"Haskel Margulies, 2nd Lieutenant. Lazarus, also 2nd Lieutenant. Jaroslav Palmer, 2nd Lieutenant."

"Virginia Ginsberg, Jaxon, Albert Barnaby. Sergeant."

"Mirza Shammas, Anais Viray, Teodoro Caceres, Josiah Johnston. Corporal."

"Nate Turchin, Siobhan Dunleavy, Felix, Becca, Rafael and Sledge. Private."

As Haskel finished he moved off to the side. Jaxon looked somewhat bewildered.

"You put me pretty high up there boss. Any reason for that?"

"You've got considerable experience leading small companies and acting as an officer while on base. While I believe the Talons to be a group of heartless fuckers, I can't deny their organization. You'll be expected to train some of our less skilled members in Marksmanship and hand to hand combat."

"Right up my alley. For a bunch of kids you've definitely got your shit together."

Vincent nodded, gracefully taking the compliment and moving onto the rest of the proceedings. "I know we've had a long day, so I won't hold you much longer: We've got your lodgings posted too."

Vincent turned towards the house closest to the exit. "Jaxon, you've got standing officer duty at Gibson House. For the night Rafael and Jesse will be joining you. Felix and Sledge will be moving in when they get out of the clinic."

Vincent pointed to the next nearest house. "Haskel, you already know your detail. This is Benson House, and it houses both the Clinic and what will be our robot repair lab. Mirza, Teo, Palmer and Doctor Barnaby will be shacked up there."

Vincent turned to the house closest to the Perch. "Zane House. The women's barracks and where the armory is set up. I hope you don't mind shacking up with the ladies Nate."

"Aww yeah get some Turchin!" Josiah hollered from the group.

Palmer smacked his hand against his face while Ginny merely rolled her eyes.

"Ginny, you've got detail there. Finally Lazarus, Leon and I will be situated at Gillian House." Vincent pointed to the last house, nestled in the hills towards the back of the suburb. "It will also be where Haskel's office is situated. The Perch will be fortified and turned into a redoubt. The upper floors will be fortified while the lower floors will be turned into our practice center. In the morning we will work on getting everything set up, but for the night head off to your respective houses."

As the group turned to leave Vincent stopped them. "With the exceptions of myself, Josiah, Palmer and Anais who will take the night shift for guard duty. Haskel has the rotation sheet, which will be posted in every house weekly. Sleep well, for tomorrow we're going to the break out backs. Dismissed."

The mentioned members on guard duty waited while the remaining Mercenaries moved to their respective lodgings.

"The organization is pretty slick Vincent. When did you come up with all of that?"

Vincent, not worn down from the day's battle responded. "The majority of it is Haskel's planning. He arranged everything and it all makes sense in a way. Every house is perfectly situated for its role. Gibson is filled with frontline fighters who are quick to arm and attack. Benson House is centrally located, which allows for quick access to the clinic. Zane is out of the way, so our armory is essentially one of the last places hit if we are assaulted."

"And Gillian House is nice and out of the way so the officer's won't get taken down first."

"No, Gillian House is out of the way so no one can get into our funds. You guys are good fighters, and slowly but surely you are proving your loyalty to me. But until it is rock solid I don't trust any of you with our money. Haskel's got some weird code of honor he follows, and I've known Lazarus for years."

"And Leon?"

"Leon won't double cross me. In the remote chance he did he wouldn't live long enough to spend anything he stole."

The edge to Vincent's words was unmistakable. Whatever nerve Palmer had hit, he hit it hard.

"All right Davey Crockett, let's go stand guard duty."

"Who's Davey Crockett?" Jesse replied.

Palmer merely shook his head as the pair walked away.

"Anais, walk with me." Vincent asked. The Outcast walked alongside him.

Before Vincent had a chance to say anything the former Brotherhood knight began to speak. "You don't trust the Doctor."

"I don't trust any of the new recruits."

"I've seen the way you look at him, and posting two lieutenant's in Benson? Curious choice, Captain."

"I don't see what this has to do with-"

"It doesn't. It was an observation. Why have you separated the barracks by gender?"

"Trust primarily, but keeping the relationships on the team to a minimum is necessary. I didn't keep you out here to play twenty questions. Let's get something very straight Anais: Your track record is spotty as all hell. You left the Brotherhood-"

"Not my choice."

"Bullshit. From there you moved on to work with the Outcasts for several years before leaving them."

Anais snorted, which was the most emotion Vincent had seen of her yet. "Casdin wanted to horde every car battery and light bulb he found. The Outcasts don't pay well, and you risk your life for what exactly? Several laser pistols? A suit of broken power armor? They placed too low a price on human life."

"And working as a freelancing assassin is supposed to make you better morally?"

Anais shrugged. "Caps are caps. And not every Waste Lander you meet is a Saint. I put down some particular monsters during my run, and I don't regret a moment of it."

"All right, I'll concede those points to you. Now, how much of your gear is stolen from the Outcasts?"

Anais regarded Vincent with something akin to surprise. Since it was Anais the effect was subtle, but hawk eyed Vincent didn't miss it.

"Plasma weaponry is incredibly advanced, so I really doubt you managed to find two workable Pistols just lying around in the Wasteland. Recon armor is less suspect, but anything is possible. So, I'll ask you again, how much of what you are using is looted from Casdin's storage?"

"The Recon Armor and the Plasma Pistols. I picked the sword off of a Ghoulified Chinese Commando"

Vincent let out a low whistle. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten that. You must be one of the most wanted women in the Wasteland right now, at least where the Outcasts and the Brotherhood are concerned."

"In two days we are departing for Canterbury Commons for supplies and contracts. You will be accompanying us. Let's see you put them to use then."

Anais nodded before moving up into the Perch.

"And Anais?"

She turned to look at Vincent, whose eyes were hard and piercing. "If I catch you in the armory or my office without Nate or myself in either of those places you won't need to worry about Casdin catching you. Do I make myself clear?"

Anais nodded and moved on.

Vincent was left alone, and without missing a beat he began to patrol the grounds, quietly remembering past transgressions and old wounds.

He would pass the dayshift off to Leon and Lazarus. They would handle the logistics of reparations while he caught some sleep.

* * *

The following day was a buzz of activity for the Mercenaries. The night crew had had no incidents and were off to bed, while the rest of the team began to set up the base to their liking.

Teo and Mirza set up a giant laboratory in the master bedroom of Benson House. Originally the pair wanted to set up a tech lab in the basement, but Barnaby had already claimed the space at the Base's clinic. Jaroslav and Haskel set up cots in the guest bedroom of the house, while Mirza and Teo had a double bunk set up in their workshop.

Barnaby slept on a cot in his clinic, rarely interacting with his housemates.

Benson House was the working house: Palmer typically was out on patrol; Haskel worked out of Gillian House; The remaining three housemates worked in their respective spaces, only interacting with each other when necessary.

Things were considerably different over at Gibson House. Jaxon, Rafael and Josiah were hard partiers, and their lodging became the place to get smashed and have a good time. Once Sledge and Felix were cleared from Barnaby's clinic, the house had its full occupancy. Rafael and Josiah bunked in the guest room, while Jaxon greedily claimed the master to himself.

Sledge put a mattress in the basement and stayed there. He wasn't very social, as his housemates were discovering.

Felix was a different kind of social. The kid had jacked up hours of sleep and often took the night shift in an attempt to sleep during the day.

Then there was Zane House. The girls (And Nate) got along about as well as a bag of cats. Ginny and Anais despised each other. Anais cast instant disdain to Nate and Becca. Siobhan was the only one who she gave any semblance of respect to, and the others figured it was due to the fact that she was _Siobhan_. Anyone who made a habit out of punching all manner of wild life with her bare hands was someone you tiptoed around cautiously.

Nate found Becca to be an irritating presence, while Ginny did not the like the looks she cast Vincent when she thought she wasn't looking.

Anais had a problem with her because of her nightly habits, which consisted of sneaking out to Gibson House to spend time with Rafael. On the third night of their residence at Minefield, Ginny had the night watch with Rafael. When she came back to the house she found that Becca was creeping into the room she shared with Siobhan.

'So it's more than just Rafael then.' Ginny thought soundly.

She had no problem with Becca having sex with her teammates, so long as it wasn't disruptive or Vincent, she could go wild.

What Ginny wasn't keen about was the fact that it was multiple guys at once. The next night Rafael was on shift and Becca left as she usually did. Ginny decided to trail her and see what was going on.

Trailing her was a lot harder than Ginny originally thought. Of course, Becca was informally trained as a scout, but beyond that she was quiet. If she didn't exit through the front door, Ginny believed none of her roommates would ever actually have known she left the house at night.

Becca crouched low to the ground and climbed up to the roof. Ginny contented herself with gingerly following her around the side of the house, keeping low to track her. She watched as Becca jumped from the top of Zane house and onto the roof of Benson House.

'That doesn't make any sense. If she keeps on going she'll run into the guard post near Gibson, where Rafael and Palmer were currently keeping watch.'

Becca crept to the side of the roof, dropped down flat and knocked on the uppermost window.

The window opened and a very excited Mirza motioned her in. Becca dropped down and into the master bedroom of Benson House.

'Oh. Well that makes three… that I know of.' Ginny shuddered at the thought of who else Becca could be having sex with. Perhaps the good doctor was getting his fair share of blonde nookie too?

Gross.

Ginny didn't like having to effectively hold the fort with Vincent and Leon gone.

Three days had passed since their victory, and the group was in desperate need of supplies. Vincent, Haskel, Josiah, Anais and Leon traveled to the nearby town of Canterbury Commons to procure work for the team and gather the necessities that the team would need if they were to continue living in Ridgefield.

Lazarus was left in charge, with Palmer, Ginny and Dr. Barnaby right beneath him on the chain of command. And Jaxon by technicality, but fuck technicalities. The man wasn't fit to lead a pack of Mole Rats, let alone a team of Mercenaries.

They had been spending their days fortifying the base, cleaning out the houses, repairing the various buildings and getting their equipment ready. Unlike Leon who was a laxadaisical overseer, Lazarus was a drill sergeant that put his twelve Mercenaries to work. Nate, Teo, Mirza, and Becca had morning target practice under Jaxon.

Rafael was resting after his shift the previous night and would cover the night shift again.

Palmer had remained awake and was lifting heavy materials with Sledge to the top floor of the Perch. Siobhan and Felix had the front gate.

Barnaby muttered something about needing Medical supplies and spent the day cooking up (at least what Ginny hoped it was) Med-X.

At present she was walking the grounds with Lazarus, inspecting the base for damages. Afterwards they would go on to inventory their supplies for when Vincent returned, no doubt with some insane task for them to accomplish.

While Ginny was overlooking the field, she noticed the practice rounds going on.

Teo was already a decent shot, while Nate and Mirza were working on their marksmanship with mixed results.

Jaxon was paying near exclusive attention to Becca, showing her how to stand, what grip she should be using on her weapon…

He was very close to Becca. Very close.

Ginny merely sighed and went back to her work, missing the Lazarus looking over her shoulder and witnessing the same thing.

* * *

That night Ginny went to sleep. She ended up sharing a room with Becca, which was how she was partial to Becca's exploits. That night she left, and Ginny decided not to follow her. For a few minutes it was quiet, and Ginny expected to her the front shut as it had over the last few nights.

Instead it remained quiet. Very quiet.

Ginny tried to go back to sleep, and was very well near it when she heard giggling coming from down the hall.

Giggling. Then moaning.

Was Siobhan up the same tricks as Becca had been? Perhaps not. Siobhan hadn't really shown herself to any other hobbies than brawling, drinking, and beating the hell out of her teammates.

But… Becca never left the house… and no one came in the house…

Ginny tried to not look horrified, but some lines needed to be drawn. The whole reason Haskel had divided the houses as he had was to minimize fraternization between teammates, which he found highly unproductive.

Ginny wondered if she would still be allowed to carry on with Vincent if Haskel had his way.

Unsettled by the night's thoughts (And noises) Ginny quietly left her bedroom and walked downstairs, attempting to ignore the rhythmic moans coming from Siobhan's room. She worked her way downstairs and towards Nate's armory.

She found the young man to be awake and dissembling weapons. He sat behind a long desk with two piles of guns on either side, with whatever current weapon he was fixing in the center.

He looked up and did a double take when he saw Ginny. "Erm… Hello Virginia. Can I help you with something?"

Ginny shook her head, amused at the shyness of the mechanic. "Just restless and not feeling tired. Becca is-"

"Out with Rafael again?" Nate asked.

"No, upstairs with Siobhan."

"Oh, well I hope she gets her proper sleep." Nate hummed naively.

"No, Becca is upstairs with Siobhan. Together." Ginny said.

"Oh. OH YOU MEAN-!"

"Yes Nate, just like that."

"I didn't think that she liked girls."

"Yeah, me neither buddy. With Haskel not here to play chaperone everyone is getting a little frisky."

"What does that mean? You and Becca are the only women here, and unless you are being unfaithful to Vincent then Becca is the only one getting... erm, laid."

Ginny loved this naïve boy. "Nate honey, Becca is getting laid. And so is half of the camp."

Nate's eyes widened. "No! Who else?"

"Well I know she spent a night with Mirza, and I suspect she has spent time with Jaxon…"

"That explains practice this morning. Mirza was pissed off and Jaxon was getting rather handsy with her. He is a very bad man Ginny."

"I know Nate."

"No, not just because he is a Talon. The things he has done… The looks he gives you girls… the looks he gives me…" Nate went quiet and went focused on reassembling one of the several assault rifles the group had brought with them from Big Town.

"Nate, have you had any trouble with Jaxon?" Ginny asked. Nevermind Becca and her sluttiness, if Jaxon was putting unwarranted advances on crewmates she would kill him…

Nate shook his head. "He hasn't done anything, but I would not care to be alone with him."

"You won't be. I promise you that."

"I am on the night patrol for tomorrow night."

'What in the hell…' "Nate, specialists don't get put on patrols. You guys have enough work managing the base. It's one thing when we go on missions, but on base you are more reliable where you are…"

"The patrol schedule has myself and Jaxon at the front gate. Vincent isn't due back from Canterbury until two days from now. I am not opposed to being out there, but with him…"

Ginny stood up from the wall she was leaning against. "Just be here tomorrow evening. I'll talk to Lazarus about the shift."

Nate stood up from his work bench and embraced Ginny in a hug. "спасибо, Virginia." His voice was even, but he was holding back pain. Ginny embraced the boy.

"I've got you. No one will get you now."

* * *

The following night Jaxon was waiting by the entrance, smoking his way through a pack of cigarettes. A sniper rifle was slung across his back, and a 10mm SMG was at his hip. A bandoleer of frag grenades lay draped diagonally down his Talon breastplate. His beady eyes were bright with malice, or at least how Ginny interpreted it.

She was dressed in her armor, with only her revolver attached on her belt. She casually strode towards the guard post and leaned opposite of Jaxon.

He regarded her for a moment, eyebrow raised. "Where's the queer?"

As if Ginny needed another reason to put him down.

"I replaced Nate on the roster. Lazarus didn't feel confident with having a lesser shot at the front."

Jaxon shrugged, and continuing smoking his cigarette.

Ginny's eyes never left him. She was not about to let this crazy bastard get the upper hand on her.

Instead she decided to see how well he handled under pressure.

"So, you have fun with Becca?"

Without skipping of beat Jaxon replied. "She ain't half bad."

"Uh huh. And how does Rafael feel about you shacking up with her?"

"Gave me his blessing himself."

Now it was Ginny's turn to raise an eyebrow.

For the first time Jaxon scoffed and broke from his indifferent state. "Fuck you girlie. Megaton has a set of walls around it and you act like you're better than half of the wasteland. She wanted it, he wanted her, and when he didn't he didn't mind me having a slice."

"Leave Nate alone."

Jaxon chuckled. "Got a soft spot for the little fag? Well aren't you just special. All motherly and shit. Well you shouldn't worry, he'd probably beg for it-"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Ginny was seeing red. Of course this one wasn't different. All Talons are sadistic monsters. They raped and pillaged and _murdered_ without a second thought. Perhaps she needed to put him down. Or perhaps there was a better route to all of this…

"Or what? You'll shut it for me?"

"No you fucking idiot. I won't do a thing. You know who will? Vincent will, because you are disrupting his team. Haskel will, because you are breaking his rules, and Leon will, because you tried to fuck with me." Ginny spat out at him.

Jaxon lost a bit of his bluster the moment Ginny introduced Haskel into that equation.

"Whatever. I'll leave your little pansy alone. Just don't expect me to stop screwing Becca because your feelings are hurt or whatever."

"Yeah? You aware she's screwing half the camp right?"

Jaxon seemed surprised for the first time in the whole conversation. "No she isn't. I know she was with Raf-"

"And Mirza. And Siobhan. No doubt she's shacking up with someone else."

"The crazy bitch with the fist? You sure about that?"

"They were right down the hall from my room."

"Fuck. Knew she liked to get around, but that's some serious whoring shes up to."

"Yeah."

The two stood in silence with each other, both watching each other's fingers twitch.

"Reminds me of home. We'd constantly be sharing women. Whether they liked it or not-"

In one motion Ginny unholstered her revolver and fired. Simultaneously, Jaxon drew a handgun from behind his back and fired at Ginny.

Both hit their targets.

* * *

Cliffhanger!

So some notes on the chapter:

-Becca's nymphomania will be revealed in the next few chapters, in a very interesting turn of events.

-I do not frown upon Becca's actions, and neither does Ginny. She does however feel mighty uncomfortable with Becca sowing discord by boinking a bunch of her teammates simultaneously. Let me be clear, it isn't because of the sex, it's because she's spreading jealously with little more than a backwards glance.

-Ginny isn't a prude or a homophobe, she just isn't wild about the prospect of Becca Seducing her in the middle of sleeping.

-Siobhan, is totally a lesbian. Becca's just adventurous.

-Jaxon's an equal opportunity pig. He'll nail anything that isn't screwed down. Or vice-versa?

-Nate grows a pair and stops acting completely pussified in the chapters to come. If you have feelings on how he acts, I strongly encourage you to give me input.

-You'll get to see Anais in action very soon. She will live up to the hype.

-You'll get more backstory on Sledge and Felix soon.

-As a forewarning: This is the last chapter in which sex scenes remain T-Rated. In the future, they will be described in detail, and they will be all over the board: Straight, Gay, Group sex, etc. Input is also appreciated.

-You will be getting a heavy Barnaby chapter coming up, which will help flesh out the characters backstories.

-There will be no official missions from the game in this story. There will be hybrids of the missions occurring based on what I feel will showcase the teams properly.

-You will see One, possibly Two DLC's. One is definite, the other is optional.

-You may see TLW. Still on the fence about that.

I hope this answers your questions or raises more for you.

Thanks for reading, and please go review! :D


	22. Today's Special! Death a la Cowboy

Sorry for the hiatus guys and girls. I got caught up in the Winter Break and was laaaazzzzy about updating. Fear not however, I am back and ready to keep the plot moving with more action, more snark, and far more Cowboys!

Special props to IronCross for reviewing every chapter and giving me feedback. The lot of you should look to him as a sterling example of what a reader should be. Reviews are compass to my lost Boy Scout. Without them I will be eaten by bears. Don't let me get eaten by Bears.

Save a life, review a chapter. Brought to you by the Council on Ursine Mauling Prevention.

* * *

"Guuuuuhhhhhhhgggghghhhhhhhhh ." Was the first sound Ginny managed to rasp out when she came to.

There was a dim light above her head, and she felt as though she were laying down on something. What that something was she wasn't exactly sure, but she assumed it was a bed. Her body was on fire and she couldn't place her surroundings.

Moving her hands she could feel the surface beneath her: soft, solid, somewhat dingy.

Definitely a bed. She proceeded to pull herself up towards a sitting position.

A font of pain erupted in the center of her chest. Ginny gasped at the sheer throbbing ache and resigned herself to laying back down. If only for a little while longer…

* * *

When she awoke again she found herself feeling slightly better. She also noticed two things:

The first of which was where she was. Said location was the clinic in the basement of Benson House. She looked around and noted that she was the only patient in the clinic, and that the Doctor was nowhere to be seen.

The other thing she noted was Vincent, sitting in a chair across from her looking righteously pissed off.

His face could have been carved from the smoothest of granite, and his eyes were positively lethal.

Ginny moved to sit up and found it only slightly less difficult than earlier. Pushing herself upwards she managed an uncomfortable if not beneficial position.

She set her eyes on Vincent who had not moved this whole time and murmured several little words.

"Well… shit." Ginny coughed out, throat dry and raspy from lack of use.

Vincent continued to stare at her. "Yeah. Don't plan on going anywhere soon. You and I need to talk."

* * *

_Four Days Earlier…_

"Was it really a good idea taking so much…_ leadership_ out of the Camp, Vincent?" Leon was looking between Vincent and Haskel as if one would put his fears to rest. This would be the first time they left the group alone to handle affairs amongst themselves without the intervention of Vincent or Leon.

Vincent assured Leon that the situation would be under control and they would have nothing to worry about. Lazarus had been whipping people into shape for years

Now they had to focus at the task at hand:

Getting to Canterbury Commons in one piece. This wasn't too intimidating for a small pair like Lazarus and Vincent or a large group, like the entire assembled company.

But they were neither of these things. They were a team of five traveling alongside a pack Brahmin. While Vincent didn't doubt their skill or ferocity, he was more intimidated traveling out in the country than he was in urban areas. Urban zones were full of hiding spots and fortifiable locations. The Wasteland however was often void of any cover and filled with nature's very pissed of descendants.

Urban areas played host to bandits, ghouls and even Mutants. What they weren't typically inhabited by however were Deathclaws, Radscorpions or the scourge of the rural wasteland, which happened to be barreling towards them at present…

"GOT OURSELVES A 'GUAI!" Jesse shouted, cocking his Rifle and firing at a gigantic and pissed off mutated bear.

The remaining four members of the group dived out of the way as the Guai made a beeline for Jesse. As it lunged at Jesse he managed to dive under the bear, unsheathing his axe and brandishing it at the bear.

"C'mon you piece of shit! Com' get some!" The tracker roared

The Guai recoiled from its lunge and began to circle towards Jesse, who circled around the bear as well.

The Guai growled ferociously and began to move towards Jesse when a high pitched hiss came from behind him.

"Jesse! Big Scorp on your six!" Leon yelled.

Jesse knew he was pinned between a Radscorp (And a big fucker at that) and this damn Guai.

"Thanks for the head's up Jackass! Now get 'im!" Jesse shouted back

Jesse's grip on his Axe tightened and breathing, he let his instincts take over.

The Guai pawed at the ground, hazy orbs fixed on the area behind Jesse. The scuttling he heard behind him was all he needed in order to move. Jesse broke into a run for the nearest rock structure to his right. The Guai roared and raced after him…

…Only to get a face full of lead.

Vincent, Leon and Haskel had unholstered their weapons and were unloading into the Guai, while Anais had unholstered both of her pistols and was charging the giant Radscorpion.

Firing wildly and making every shot, Anais was a vision. The Scorpion leveled an anguished shriek at the girl before slashing out at her with its tail. Anais gracefully dodged the pincer and traded her pistols for her sword. Both girl and arachnid were dancing around each other, parrying sword thrusts and pincer strikes with ease…

Meanwhile Haskel put down the Guai by shooting out its knees. 'One down, one to go.' Vincent thought as the remaining Mercenaries leveled their weapons at the Radscorpion.

Haskel fired first, putting two rounds into the creatures' stinger. The Scorpion flailed back in agony, clicking with each step.

"Stop it! I've got him!" Anais screeched at her group mates. Haskel merely smiled and holstered his gun, while the other three Mercenaries continued to aim at the Scorpion, thinking Anais even more batshit insane than she already was.

She rushed towards the Scorpion, feinted left before bounding to the right, arcing her sword across the face of the arachnid. Rusted steel raked over glossy black pearls, leaving acidic green blood and mangled hissing in its wake.

A claw shot out at Anais, who parried it with her sword. Partially blinded, the Scorpion was much less coordinated in its attacks. After sidestepping a particularly heavy jab Anais saw her opening.

Moving around the side of the Scorpion she wedged her sword into the side of the beast before jumping on top of the creature. It hissed tried to throw her off, but Anais kept her balance.

All three mercenaries were staring at her, mouths agape.

In a flash her pistols were drawn and cocked. Several green pulses of light connected with the head of the Giant Scorpion, decimating and already ruined face and causing the arachnid to quake violently. Anais tumbled off the side of the arachnid, rolling to a kneeling position as if planned.

The massive beast crumpling in the background, Anais rose and dusted off her armor. She proceeded to retrieve her sword and clean it of the corrosive Scorpion's blood.

"Fancy footwork Anais." Leon voice drained of any sarcasm or reproach. Words couldn't really do justice to what he had just seen.

Anais leveled his awe with a scowl and moved back towards the terrified pack Brahmin, which had managed to avoid two blends of gruesome death that day. Rubbing a hand alongside each of its two heads the Outcast soothed the beast before taking up the reins and guiding it back towards their trail.

Haskel gave her an approving nod, while Vincent gave the slightest of bows in her direction.

The pentet resumed their journey, leaving their broken enemies as warnings to any other opponents that would seek to hinder their journey.

* * *

After another three hours of walking, the plateau was in sight.

Vincent could make out a handful of the buildings from their considerable distance.

He could also make out the smoke rising from the center of the town.

"Double time team! Canterbury is under attack!" Vincent growled, whipping the team into a faster pace.

As the group arrived at the ramp leading up to the shelf of the plateau they were greeted with the corpses of waste landers, robots, raiders, and giant ants.

"The hell is this 'bout?" Jesse murmured.

The bodies were lying haphazardly around each other, as if every group had decided to fight each other simultaneously.

One Protectron was missing the lower half of its body, while a giant ant lay speared against a rock, it's pincers still gored into the raider who slew it.

There were machine parts, limbs and blood puddles scattered all over the ramp, and the group wasted no time in ascending the peak and entering the still burning town. Chaos greeted their arrival.

Gigantic ants that would have rivaled some of the Radscorpions Vincent had seen were charging groups of Raiders, while a several sentry bots were attacking the large building that constituted Canterbury's town hall.

Unholstering their weapons the team sprang into action. Jesse shuffled towards the fray, firing into the nearest Ants and Raiders.

Leon and Vincent moved headfirst into the combat, with Leon expending clip after clip on the giant ants. Slowly but surely the invaders took note of the new arrivals and began to attack them.

Haskel, ever calm and collected, was executing the enemies left and right. When a decidedly large ant thundered towards him he holstered his gun and unsheathed his massive knife with his left hand.

His right held a brace of throwing knives, which he proceeded to fling at the towering insect.

The ant charged Haskel with its unseemly bulk, pincers snapping and salivating at the instinctual kill standing before it.

Haskel raced towards the Ant, flipping his knife into his dominant hand before parrying ever bite with his knife. Quickly moving around the ant he severed legs and stabbed throwing knives into the ant.

Hissing in pain, the ant slowly turned to face its prey, but the man was nearly finished with the ants' legs. After a full minute of ducking and bobbing and cutting, the ant was laid down by the insidious man, who merely unholstered his weapon from a distant, lined up his shot, and fired a round into the ant's skull.

Jesse had switched from using his rifle to a more barbaric method of attack: A raider charged Jesse with a Knife, to which Jesse responded by burying his axe into the man's jaw. As the Raider went slack, Jesse moved to withdraw his axe from the raider's face but found it firmly embedded.

A second Raider came charging at Jesse, this one brandishing a sledgehammer.

Jesse shook the man's body again, rather grotesquely, before whipping out the sawn off on his hip and firing both rounds into the encroaching raider. Turning back the task at hand, Jesse placed his boot on the Raider's skull and pulled up, removing the axe with a satisfyingly squishy crunch.

As Jesse moved towards another group of raiders, he took note of the battle: Leon had taken down several ants, and was now working in cohesion with Haskel to eliminate the remaining pests. Anais was whirling around the battlefield, calming disposing of random enemies while avoiding being drawn into any one conflict. Vincent was... well damn.

Vincent had broken through the chaos and was locked in a gunfight with the two Sentry Bots assaulting the Town Hall.

Vincent relayed his tactical knowledge of the sentry bots while strafing through their fire. 'Gatling Lasers, Missiles, Fast mobility, armored chassis-' Vincent fired a round of buckshot at the bots, which only served to direct their lasers _towards_ Vincent.

Vincent rolled out of the way and behind a dumpster to avoid getting vaporized. "Weak back paneling and head covers! Right!'

Vincent began to reload his shotgun when he heard the telltale sound of rusted wheels rolling over pavement. The Bots were advancing. Vincent unsheathed his knife and placed his shotgun to the side before rolling out of cover.

The Sentry bot readjusted it's aim to fire on Vincent, but Vincent had already thrown his knife and the Bot's "head". Jesse aimed his rifle and delivered the killing shots.

With a satisfying crunch the knife embedded itself into the robots faceplate, instantly dismantling it.

The next bot wheeled towards Vincent and fired a rocket at the adept mercenary. Jesse moved to fire again but found himself grappling with yet another damn Raider.

Vincent rolled forward under the arc of the missile and began running head on to the Bot.

The remaining Sentry Bot reloaded it's cannon and prepared to fire again when Vincent reached the front of the Bot. The Bot moved to punch Vincent with its other arm, but Vincent merely sidestepped around the Bot and towards its back.

With effortless grace Vincent rammed his pistol into the Sentry Bot's power core and fired repeatedly…

The bot was not powered down, much to Vincent's chagrin. As the Sentry Bot wheeled around Vincent cursed his lack of robotics knowledge and began to reload his clip, when an all too familiar shade sprung into view.

Multiple bolts of Plasma smashed into the back of the Sentry Bot. Chunks of metal sloughed off of the Bot, which wheezed in apparent sentience. Calmly, Anais holstered her pistols, unsheathed her sword, and began to sever every visible cable and exposed wire she could find on the Bot.

In less than two minutes the garbled, slain bot lay in a heap on the ground, and Vincent found himself grateful not for the second time today for the assistance of Anais Viray

* * *

After the bots were dispatched the remaining threats seemed to wither retreat. At least those that the other Mercenaries hadn't cut down managed to retreat.

Vincent was particularly displeased with Jesse, who he found holding a raider up by his arms while a small girl with black hair disemboweled him. Jesse merely shrugged it off and high fived the girl who was grinning madly at him.

'Points for teamwork, points removed for acting like a dick.' Vincent mused as he surveyed the wreckage.

Canterbury was littered with the bodies of the fallen, both defender and invader. The mayor of the town, a caravan magnate Vincent recognized as Uncle Roe, emerged from the Town Hall to address his saviors.

"Mister Vincent, why I sure am glad that you all managed to show up to rescue us. I don't know what we would have done had you not shown."

The man's forehead was slick with sweat, and his beady eyes darted between the various companions appraisingly.

"You would have died." Anais supplied malevolently.

"Oh heavens, I think you have a point Miss, we would surely have fallen if not for your assistance!" Roe simpered to the group.

The black haired girl turned to Roe and scoffed before spitting on a slain raider's corpse.

"Right… Well Mayor… would you care to tell me why Canterbury became as it is?"

The Mayor wrung his hands nervously. "Several days following your departure we were attacked by two costumed fellas-"

"The Antagonizer and the Mechanist!"

Vincent glanced to his side to see a young boy racing towards the group.

Roe panicked even further. "Derek! Get your ass back inside this instant!"

Derek did not slow but instead began to talk faster. "The Antagonizer and The Mechanist are archenemies!"

Vincent faced Roe and raised an amused eyebrow. Roe threw up his hands. "The boy does nothing but read comic books all day long. He doesn't know a thing about these raiders-"

"Uncle Roe! What have I told you! They aren't raiders! The Antagonizer has a colony of giant ants at her side while the Mechanist has an army of deadly robots on his side! They aren't Raiders!"

Roe motioned for Vincent to move closer before whispering in his ear. "Canterbury is the Caravan hub of the wasteland. I currently have the most to lose if word gets out that my town isn't stable enough to house the various caravaneers of the wasteland my business will suffer greatly and so will my town. This will not do Mister Vincent."

"What do you propose we do Roe? We came here to buy supplies off of you, but if you can't even manage a small infestation of ants then pray tell, why should we be so inclined to do our business here?" Haskel's steely reply set Roe aflame.

"What am I supposed to do! We don't have an army! If only someone would save us! We have so little money and we could use a group of adventurers to help us out!"

"Coward! Go fuck yourself Roe!" The young girl screamed from across the street. Fury shone in her eyes at the incompetence of her Mayor.

Roe became even more frothed and flustered, to the point of babbling incoherently. Vincent had had enough of this toad and decided to end the conversation the only way he knew how.

*thwack*

Roe stumbled backwards before falling on the ground.

"You idiot. If you had wanted our services, you should have asked. Haskel could have drawn up a contract in minutes and we would have taken care of this. Instead you groveled and tried to mooch your way into my sympathies." Vincent was kneeling next to Roe now looking him square in the eye while he spoke.

"Now, we will rectify this issue for you, but it won't come cheaply, and we won't be doing it for you but for Canterbury. Understood?"

Roe quietly nodded, his eyes locked on Vincent's.

"Good. Now, tell Joe Porter it's safe to come out and get some food on the stove. We need to sit down and talk shop."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Make sure to review lest you wish for me to be mauled by bears! ;D


	23. Daze gone by

All right, now that I've got the rhythm of the New Year down, I can finally get back to updating my fics.

Capital Cowboys will be getting a lot of love since I know exactly where this arc is going.

If you have any questions or comments make sure to review or PM me.

This chapter flips around a little bit, but I didn't feel like writing four in story days of inconsequential material :P

* * *

"How long was I out?" Ginny rasped out, eyes fixed on Vincent.

Vincent rested his right shin on his thigh before resuming locking eyes with Ginny.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for a little over four days."

'Fuck, have I been out that long?'

Focusing on the center of the bed Ginny attempted to recall the last four days…

'Lights, murmurs, crashes, splinters, antiseptic, linen, iron, salt, words, ghoul, patches, scrape, harsh, monster, bird, talon-'

Ginny looked up at Vincent, recognition blossoming in her almond eyes.

"Where is Jaxon?" Ginny asked.

Vincent took a deep breath and exhaled.

* * *

_Three days earlier…_

"Haskel, I want you to take an inventory of Canterbury's defenses. Assess the entry and exit points, the damage to the buildings, strategic defense points. Take inventory of their supplies and armaments, chems, foodstuffs, armor, anything that can help us prepare for the coming days."

Haskel nodded and got straight to work.

"Jesse. Pay attention!"

The auburn trapper snapped to attention. "Yeah? What'chu wan' Vince?"

"Those Ants must have a nest within the surrounding area. I need you to go scout out Canterbury's borders and map out possible hive sites. If you find clear evidence of the Hive make sure to NOT engage the ants, and get back here immediately."

The Trapper grunted and descended the earthen trail that formed Canterbury's entrance.

"Leon, Anais, you two with me."

"What did you have in mind?" The Outcast inquired. Despite the harrowing battle settled the previous evening, Anais looked just as fresh and alert as she had during their departure from Ridgefield.

"At present there are at least three separate threats encroaching on Canterbury, and Roe is paying us handsomely to remove them from his town. Raiders are wasteland trash, and short of them being a true horde they should be severely weakened since yesterday's failed raid."

Vincent lit a cigarette before continuing. "I don't know about the two of you, but I don't really want a repeat of last night. The killer robots and gigantic ants are enough on their own, and a bunch of raiders is only going to tip the scales away from our favor."

Leon weighed his words for a moment. "Immediate strike against the raider camp?"

Vincent nodded no and took a long drag of his cigarette. "You don't strike vermin. You exterminate them. Grab your gear and be back here in ten. We're going hunting."

* * *

_One day later…_

"HOLD THAT BARRICADE!" Vincent shouted before unloading a canister of buckshot into the face of an approaching Ant Warrior.

Leon and the hellcat girl, Machete, were struggling to hold the barricade adjacent to Vincent.

Off in the distance Anais and Jesse were engaged in a firefight with several sentry bots, while Haskel was coordinating the local defense, sending militia between the two separate barricades whenever one fell short.

Leon crouched the reload his Rifle while Machete alternated between shooting ants with her dinky .32 pistol and bashing them with her rusted crowbar. Despite her size, she was a terror on the battlefield.

"RISE UP! RISE UP MY INSECTOID MINIONS! OVERCOME THE IMPURE WORLD OF HUMANITY!"

A lithe woman in a ridiculous costume commanded the invading swarm. So far she had proved to be too fast to be hit by either Vincent or Leon's bullets, rolling and dodging bullets with superhuman agility.

Vincent continued firing upon the ants for the rest of the night.

The opposing forces broke at daybreak and retreated into the hills opposite the town.

Exhausted, Vincent slumped down by his barricade and rested his eyes. Haskel could hold the fort for now…

* * *

_Several hours following the battle…_

Vincent awoke with a rough start, puzzled when he found himself in a bed instead of up against a rusted mailbox.

"I cleaned your scratches and armor. You're welcome."

Vincent turned to see a very awake and surly Machete sorting through a collection of Ant heads laid out around her.

"You fought well earlier. You earned your sleep. Now you may want to go see your men."

Wordlessly Vincent dressed and walked out of the prewar garage and into the town.

Haskel had a table set up in Joe Porter's diner, surveying a map of the area and quietly speaking with Anais and Leon.

As Vincent walked the group acknowledged him.

"Not my finest moment."

Leon chuckled before filling him in on the aftermath of the battle: Since the complete destruction of the Raider base situated north of Canterbury, the forces of the Antagonizer and Mechanist were whipped into a veritable frenzy. That night's battle had proved to be the toughest of the bunch, but both Anais and Leon were convinced that the attacks would quiet for the next few days.

"Has Jesse made any progress on locating the Hive?" Despite two days of fervent looking Jesse had not yet managed to find the lair of the Antagonizer.

"Stumbled upon it following the battle. He trailed one of the ants back to a hole in the ground. Haskel cross referenced the hole with a postwar map of Canterbury."

Leon put his finger on a small square on the faded blue-white gridded paper. "The Canterbury service tunnels were abandoned during a cave in over twenty years ago. Only a third of the maintenance area is accessible, but we believe that it connects into the natural caverns of the area."

Vincent nodded, already formulating a plan of attack.

"Where is Jesse now?"

"He's standing patrol at the moment near the front trail."

"Haskel, you've got command until I return. I will be back before tomorrow evening. Do you think the three of you can hold the town until then?"

"It will be secure Vincent." Haskel replied solemnly.

"All right. Hold out until the cavalry arrives."

* * *

_Present Day…_

"Vincent, Where is Jaxon?" Ginny asked.

"I came back to assemble the team for a joint strike on two massive armies that are attempting to reduce Canterbury to a pile of ash, and _this_ is what I find?!

"He taunted me into fighting. He said these things, caused disruptions. Here things have been… erratic."

"I've already talked to Becca, and her slutting around has been rectified. The men all know the deal, and if she's free to do as she damn will pleases. As for Jaxon…"

"He's dead isn't he?" Ginny now understood the overtones, the attitudes, the hushed whispers.

"Oh sweetheart, you didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did ya?"

Ginny closed her eyes and prayed that she had lost her mind, and that she was being haunted by the voice of a slain enemy.

"Girlie, I was raised by the Talons! Bred and Born, womb to tomb little miss backstab! You don't live long if you can't man up and claw your way up tha ladder!"

Ginny turned her head just enough to see the entrance, where Jaxon was lazily leaning up against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

"Dr. Barnaby has informed me that you injuries are still too fresh for you to take on the active combat we are about to go into. You have to sit this match out babe. And from the perspective of an officer I am afraid I will have to issue punishments to you for assaulting an officer."

Ginny turned back to Vincent. "I never miss."

"The hand loaded round I pulled outta my chest plate was pretty gnarly girly. If that were standard issue you would have fucked me up real bad. Fortunately this." Jaxon tapped on his chest plate. "Ain't standard issue."

Vincent stood up and walked over to Ginny's bedside. "When I get back we will have a real talk about this, but for now I want you to recover."

He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and moved to leave.

"When do we ship out boss?" Jaxon asked with bored airs.

"You aren't going out on this run."

Jaxon seemed taken aback. "The fuck for? I'm the best you got!"

"Well for starters both these operations are close quarters, and you are exclusively long-mid range fighting."

"Then why you taking that qu- kid and the scribe? I can shoot way better than either of them."

"Tech proficiencies. Besides, that isn't the only reason you are staying behind."

Jaxon raised an eyebrow. Vincent looked at him level and continued on. "More importantly, Dr. Barnaby tells me you haven't recovered from your injury."

Jaxon actually spluttered. "The FUCK?! I feel fine! That zombie checked me out yesterday!"

Vincent nodded slowly, as if carefully thinking over what he had just heard.

Without missing a beat Vincent reared his forehead right into Jaxon's nose. The crunch was the most satisfying sound Ginny had heard since waking up.

"FUGHD my dose! My fughding dose!" Jaxon spat, crumpling to the ground.

"I hope you remember that feeling, the one you are currently experiencing, the next time you decide to pull an automatic weapon on my girl."

Vincent strode upstairs and out of the clinic.

If it hadn't have hurt so much Ginny would have laughed.

* * *

Please review! Thanks for reading :)


	24. Planning Ahead and Climbing the Ladder

I yet live faithful readers! Here is an update, the second part of which will show up hopefully soon. I've got a lull in work so expect updates for this and some of my other stuff over the next few days. For Mass Effect fans, I am starting up a new story in a similar vein as this (All OC's with an original story in an established setting) that should be written and up in a few hours, if not tonight. If that sounds interesting to you, then I recommend you check it out once I get it up. For now though, enjoy!

* * *

After a modest, but uneventful trek back to Canterbury (Vincent's wisdom about traveling in a large group proving true once again) Vincent gathered his companions together for a plan of attack. The bulk of the forces stood around a map of the surrounding area of Canterbury to solve their problem of the dueling superheroes.

The ten mercenaries stood around a café table set up right outside of the town hall. Leon had been making his rounds when Vincent arrived and saw to leading the group straight to Haskel, who was seated and reviewing the plans. Anais stood to his right, passively observing the group.

Vincent had gone over the attack plans prior to leaving and decided that the Canterbury Caverns were going to require close quarters fighters who could do some damage without bringing down the apparently unstable caverns around them.

The Robot Repair Center was going to prove an entirely different challenge.

When Vincent had heard that the center was not only fortified, but located within eyesight on the ridge above the town he had merely laughed. How the town had not been overrun was beyond Vincent's imagination.

Nonetheless the building would prove difficult to take down: Giant Ants were one thing; Robots armed with advanced weaponry were entirely another. In order to get out of the center in one piece the team was going to need some serious tech experts to punch through the defenses. Once they reached the central terminal in the building they could reconfigure the Robots' IFF Systems, rendering them docile.

Vincent left Jesse at Ridgefield to get some rest, watch the camp and general keep order. While Vincent wasn't outright convinced of the Trapper's loyalty, He found it difficult to believe that he would prove too much trouble. Becca and Felix remained at the base, both out of disciplinary/medical reasons and because there was simply no need for their skills in Canterbury.

Rafael and Jaxon were also told to hole back. Jaxon was clearly in no condition to fight, and Vincent explained that explosives used in either attack would only create more problems than they were worth.

Doctor Barnaby remained behind to tend to Ginny, who would recover in a few days. She was tough, and the clinic was well stocked. Lazarus offered to continue overseeing the base, which made Vincent grateful but left him feeling guilty. He hadn't taken his mentor out with him on prominent missions and it seemed that he was cooped up within Ridgefield.

Vincent brought himself back to the present and began to lay out the plan of attack: The group would split into two separate teams, small enough to attract as minimal attention as possible while large enough to hold their own in a firefight. Their goals were separate but surprisingly similar: Break into the respective fortresses, cut through swathes of enemies, dispose of whichever signal was controlling the minions and eliminate the Antagonizer and Mechanist to put an end to Canterbury's problems.

Haskel began to dole out assignments based on what Vincent had given out: Leon would lead a team comprised of Sledge, Anais and Nate into the Caverns to deal with the Antagonizer. Leon was a good squad leader and decent shot, and his previous fight with the woman would help give him the edge. If he couldn't personally take him down then Anais most certainly could. The woman was probably the most competent swordswoman in the company, and the Antagonizer seemed to deal in close quarters attacks. Nate was coming along to gain some experience primarily. Sledge was good a crushing bugs and Vincent couldn't really think of anybody better at that level of close quarters ferocity barring Siobhan.

Vincent would lead the second team comprised of Teo, Siobhan, Mirza and Palmer. Vincent and Palmer would provide cover fire for the other three to hack systems and disable mechanical defenses. And if push came to shove, Siobhan was a pretty good last line of defense to back up the technicians.

Haskel would remain at the town and coordinate the town's defenses. At least that was what Vincent told him to say to the group when the debriefing came up.

Their goals in mind, the two groups gathered up their gear and prepared to strike as soon as the sun rose.

* * *

"Grognak is waaay cooler!" Derek Pacion declared to an aghast Siobhan.

"Nuh-uh you pratt! Clearly you've never experienced the excellence that is Manta Man!"

"Manta man is lame!"

"You take that back you knave!" Siobhan shouted in good humor. Derek's laugh was a light carefree sound that was rarely heard in the two hundred years since mankind's fall from grace.

"Siobhan! Grab your gear, we're out in five!" Palmer roared from across the Commons.

"This isn't over little man! We are going to settle this when I get back from punching out some robots." She grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. It had been years since she had seen such a carefree child, and the first time she had been able to share her love of pre-war comic strips with anyone.

Derek looked slightly taken aback by the comment. "Are you going to kill Mr. Scott?"

"Mr. Scott? Who is that Derek?"

The boy looked slightly bashful, but carried on. "Mr. Scott was our old mechanic. He fixed up robots for the caravans and sold spare parts. When the Antagonizer came first came into town she broke his Protectron. Since then he left, vowing the take revenge for his fallen friend." Derek stared at the ground for a moment, as if revealing a hallowed secret.

Her eyes widening Siobhan continued her inquiry. "Derek, are you telling me that Mr. Scott is the Mechanist?"

"I don't know, but since that day no one has seen Mr. Scott, and the Mechanist started appearing after that. He was a really nice guy, always let me play with the Protectron and showed me his cool laser guns."

This Mr. Scott sounded like a far cry from the Mechanist, but if Derek was correct in his thinking then perhaps he could be swayed into stepping down and returning to society. It was much easier to abandon wicked ways when you merely strayed from the path to begin with. Being born into crime and corruption was a much more difficult climb to redemption than being born into common society. Even the villagers who eked out meager livings as scavengers and journeymen were typically found to live in some accordance with morality.

"I will do what I can young master Derek." Siobhan murmured, ruffling Derek's hair one last time before strapping on her power fist and striding towards Vincent, echoes of vindication swirling around her mind.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review and be constructive. The more input I get, the better I can make this story for you guys. Tell me what works, tell me what doesn't work, tell me what you think could use some fine tuning, tell me when I flat out get something wrong. I've got thick skin, so short of insulting myself or the work itself with no constructional conditions, I'll accept any review without flinching. Until next time chiiiiiiiiiilllldren! ;)


	25. Dungeon Crawlers

_/Team Exterminator/_

The four Mercenaries stayed quiet as they approached the entrance to the Canterbury Access Hatch. Leon knew that the key to their success would be to move swiftly, silently and with purpose to take out the queen. Once the Antagonizer was taken care of, the ants would be in disarray with the loss of their Queen and (or at least Leon hoped) would take to attacking each other. In terms of combat he felt more secure than Vincent had to be: Sledge was several hundred pounds of barely galvanized fury, and with her infiltration skills Leon was almost surprised Vincent hadn't sent her to assassinate The Antagonizer on her own. Nate on the other hand….

"What happens if one of those big ants comes along? You know, the giant ones with the legs and the pincers…?" Nate asked, a mixture of caution and hesitation in his voice.

"We kill it." Sledge answered simply. To date, Leon realized that this was the first time he had heard Sledge speak. His basso voice would have made Palmer seem a soprano.

"But… close quarters combat doesn't seem to be a good environment for this sort of thing, right? I mean, it's a giant ant that could crush us."

"Precisely, so it can't move as well in a tunnel. I know Vincent wanted you hear for practice and fire support Turchin, but if you are going to be a thorn in my ass I'm sending you back to town. You don't even have a proper gun." Leon scoffed. He was losing patience with the boy and their mission hadn't even started.

Anais stopped assessing the door and turned back to Leon. "Ants live in these tunnels, practically form them over years of digging and dredging. Do you really think that worker ants make them too small for the larger soldiers to use? No, they do not. They will come upon us in droves and immobilize us, so that their young may feed on us later. Fascinating behaviors really."

"And if we come across these ants?" Nate asked, nearly sheet white.

"We kill them." Sledge looked at Nate briefly before snorting. "I give you ten minutes." Sledge lumbered over to the door and tried the handle. Finding it locked, he ripped the door from its metal frame and gingerly placed it to the side. The three mercenaries regarded the pure act of strength with slight hesitation before following behind the giant. As they travailed through the maintenance corridor they reviewed their objectives: Find the colony, locate the Antagonizer, kill any ants in their way, eliminate the Antagonizer and bring back any supplies/loot for the team. While Canterbury was paying them significant caps to take care of their problem, the team could always use more supplies for… well everything really.

"Wait, stop!" Nate yelled at Sledge who was about to step down the staircase at the end of the corridor. Sledge froze every muscle in his body, balancing himself quite comically on the precipice of the corridor. " . .man?" Sledge spoke through gritted teeth. Leon could imagine Sledge's reply to whatever Nate's complaint was: Two crushing hands wrapped around the Russian Queer's throat.

Nate neatly sidestepped Leon and tapped Sledge to take a step back. He then produced a pair of wire cutters from his jumpsuit. He scanned the top step for several seconds before murmuring something in what Leon believed was Russian. Leon couldn't see much from his angle and with what limited lighting they had, but he knew the sound of a wire snapping from anywhere. Nate steadied himself back up and looked along the walls along the staircase.

He tentatively took one step down on the topmost step, audibly breathing out when nothing happened. He then tore a poster located to the left of the step to reveal a combat shotgun rigged with an energy cell. A few seconds of tinkering and he had removed the shotgun from the wall and pumped it once.

"I can't tell at the moment, but anyone who puts that much trouble into a singular trap surely has more set up. I'll lead and disarm them, and who knows: I may even rack up the first kill."

Sledge retained his perma-frown, whilst Anais smirked at the boy in front of her. He would have made a good outcast. Nate wasn't looking at his two comrades however, he was staring straight at Leon. Leon merely stared back, indifference in his dark blue eyes.

* * *

_/Team Terminator/_

"We are NOT being called Team Terminator!" Palmer shouted as he bull rushed a protectron with his shoulder, knocking it to the ground and firing a shot into its faceplate.

"Oh hell yes we are old man! Nate isn't the only one who gets to have fun!" Siobhan yelled, hurling herself at a Mister Gutsy that had floated into the main room of the Robot Repair Center.

As opposed to Leon's "Team Exterminator" as Siobhan had dubbed them, Vincent's team met resistance at the front entrance. The five Mercenaries found themselves steadily pushing their way through the buildings defenses, killing wave after wave of robots. All five Mercenaries had been expecting a strong fight, and their gambit to go in guns blazing had payed off: They were almost ready to move into the central room, no thanks in part to their mad antics.

Palmer had transformed into some kind of jacked up football player, tackling robots and using his sheer bulk and strength to smash them into every surface he could find, be it floor, wall or furniture; Siobhan had actually taken to shooting the weak points of the Protectrons and Mister Gutsys that came to defend their master.

Teo and Mirza spent the whole of their time playing marksmen while occasionally hacking terminals, shooting things from behind cover, generally not having an iota of fun and bitching about lasers and the like. Teo was at least battle hardened, so his complaints were more towards Palmer not getting the robots coming around on his flank. Vincent was more than happy to pick up the slack. As always, he was calm and focused in combat killing robots with relative ease. More amazing was the coordination he was giving in the process.

"Mirza, unlock that damn door!" Vincent bellowed while simultaneously ramming his combat knife into an unfortunate Protectron's arm socket, severing the joint and disabling it altogether.

"Working on it, the terminal is very hard Vincent please stop yelling!"

"Dios mio, you can't work worth shit Shammas. Just keep hacking." Teo cursed at Mirza while unloading a full clip into a Sentry Bot, barely deterring it. "A little help!"

"HAAAAAAAAAYEEEAAAAHHH!" Siobhan jumped onto the back of the Sentry Bot, forcing it to spin around in 360 degree arcs in a vain attempt to dislodge her. Giving the robot no mercy, Siobhan used her Power Fist to smash the top of the Sentry Bot's head in, eventually caving the small dome in and causing the robot to begin to power down.

"Not so fast you piece of shit!" Siobhan cackled, using her free hand to rearrange the wires on the back of the robot.

"The _hell_ are you doing?!" Palmer grunted, fighting off a Mister Gutsy as if it were a giant pre-war octopus.

Siobhan grunted a reply, still frantically rearranging the wires. "Come on, auxillary power coupled with-" A bullet nicked the side of the Sentry Bot. "-the central core and the firing system is... POWERED ON! FUCK YEAH!" The Sentry bot ponderously fired back to life. Siobhan hopped off the back of the robot as it began to unload its minigun into the hallway, mowing down several Protectrons.

"Teo, man the robot!" Siobhan shouted as she pressed a fresh clip into her N99 Pistol.

"Man the- The robot?! Wait… how?!" The bewildered scribe shouted back in confusion.

"Back panel, set up for-" Siobhan began to shout as several lasers bounced against the frame of the doorway. "-JUST DO IT CACERES!"

The Scribe climbed over a desk and behind the robot. After a moment of recalibrating the back control panel, Teo took complete control of the robot's aim precisely targeting the enemy drones while using the Sentry Bot's bulk as a cover.

Teo readjusted another wire, and with one hand controlling the Sentry bot's wheels, the other still operating the robot's gun. Within seconds a portable turret-wall had been created, allowing the remaining Mercenaries to move behind Teo.

"Nice improvisation Teo, all right! Let's push onwards!

* * *

_/Team Exterminator/_

"MORE ANTS!" Sledge bellowed as another half dozen Ant Warriors scurried towards the group. Leon's team had accessed the caverns an hour after Nate had uncovered the first trap. Since then it had been an enemy free (If trap ridden) crawl to the entrance of the stone passages of the Antagonizer's Hive.

The moment they set foot inside the caverns however, the group was set upon by the Antagonizer's Horde. Fighting as a singular cluster, the group managed to work their way through the tunnels, inch by inch and carapace by shattered carapace.

Leon swore as he emptied his reloaded his last 5.56 clip into his Chinese Assault Rifle. Nate was firing wildly into the passage, hitting but rarely wounding the oncoming ants. Anais was far more conservative with her plasma shots, crippling legs and antennae with surgical skill. For every soldier killed by the three ranged Mercenaries, three made their way to Sledge…

"C'MON!" Sledge swung his eponymous hammer down in a savage arc, splattering the brains of an unfortunate Ant Soldier. With his other hand he slashed at an approaching ant with a hand-held Hatchet. A third ant attempted to rush Sledge but was put down by a burst of fire from Leon's rifle.

"We need to get to the Antagonizer before we run out of ammo and get overwhelmed. Turchin, how do we find her?!"

Nate turned to Leon incredulously, mouth slightly agape. "Why on earth would you think I would know that?!"

"You're the Specialist! You know this kind of shit!"

"I'm a Gunsmith, not an entomologist!" Nate fired back, unloading rounds into a nearby Ant.

Anais drew her sword and lunged at the offending Ant, beheading it with a single slash. Facing the Ants, Anais pulled two plasma grenades from her belt and hurled them at the oncoming horde, decimating their numbers. With their rush stalled the Ants began to pull back, allowing the group some respite.

Anais moved over to a wall and held her hand to the smooth stone. "The Antagonizer does not have a Queen, otherwise we would have encountered footsoldiers the moment we entered the maintenance tunnels. Most likely she keeps a combination of pheromones on her person to control the colony."

"How do you know she lacks a Queen?" Leon asked.

"I had extensive time to study the Ants of the southern wastes while with the Outcasts. The point is, if The Antagonizer had a queen, she would not only possess an army ten times the size of everything we have seen, but also be incapable of controlling the soldiers. Queens are the top of the hierarchy, and the Antagonizer would not be able to order the ants about if she was in possession of one."

"And that retreat we just saw? How do we find her then?" Nate asked curiously, holstering his pistol and drawing the combat shotgun he had scavenged earlier.

Anais put her hand against the wall for a long minute, then began walking down the tunnel. "The soldiers are following their queen's call. We follow the skittering, then we can put her down."

* * *

_/Team Terminator/_

The main repository of the Repair center was massive.

And filled with turrets.

"Shit, shit shit shit shit GOD DAMNIT!" Mirza cried out, nursing a wounded leg as Palmer covered him, trying to simultaneously bring down the turret opposite from him and not be vaporized.

Teo's Sentry Bot had burst into flames shortly after entering the repository, and he had since taken to ducking behind every surface available to try and disable the turrets. It was going as well as Siobhan expected it to.

"Merde, Vincent I'm out of SECs!"

Vincent, sporting a gash across his forehead, was trying to find a way to bring down the turrets via shotgun. It was equally ineffective.

"Last canister, then I'm out of shells. Siobhan, you got anything left?"

The Irish girl grunted as another volley of lasers ate away at the desk she was crouched behind. "Yeah, My arse-kicking abilities! COVER ME!" Siobhan rolled to the side of the desk and began zig-zagging down the walkway. Vincent fired round after round at the turrets, managing to bring down one of the three in their path. One down.

Palmer rolled adjacent to his cover and fired at the second turret, managing to hit its sensor and effectively crippling it. Two down.

Siobhan moved from cover to cover, trying to dodge the third and final turret's blasts. Eventually the turret's main gun cooled down, allowing Siobhan to spring from cover and leap towards the turret…

The red light of the turret's sensor began to shine as Siobhan closed the gap between the two. She reared her fist back and drove it forward into the barrel of the turret, metal crunching underneath the sheer force of the blow. As the turret attempted to fire from its now defunct barrel, the device exploded. Three Down.

Siobhan was thrown backwards from the blast, body limply hitting the wall.

* * *

A/N: CLIFFHANGER! HAHA! Sorry about the wait between updates, I am trying to juggle multiple stories on top of the rest of my very busy life. Once I take my finals in a few weeks and enter the summer I should be able to update far more frequently. Until then enjoy this and I will work my hardest to bring you the gripping conclusion of this story arc :P

Thanks for reading, please rate and review!

Blue-Jaye signing off ;)


	26. Stand Strong, Stand Together

/Team Exterminator/

As the team approached the Antagonizer's chamber, the mercenaries readied their weapons and prepared to fight. Leon checked his sights; Anais calmly snapped fresh energy cells into each of her plasma pistols. Nate gripped his shotgun tightly. Sledge cracked his neck, once to the left, then once to the right.

Hefting his sledgehammer Sledge charged the door in front of him swinging the hammer with brutal might.

As it connected with the door the four mercenaries exploded into action, Sledge barreling into the room first with the others on his tail.

The chamber was nearly empty, save for the Antagonizer sitting on a raised dais against the back wall.

"Well, well, well. The children of men have come to end my rule. Is that how you think this will end? With you four walking triumphantly out of here alive?" The Antagonizer stood up slowly, and walking to the top of the dais looked down at the four. "I will show you pain, and when I am finished with all of you the wasteland will come to know your actions as synonymous with the word _futility_."

"Enough talk, light her up!" The Mercenaries aimed to kill; only to have the walls burst to life as dozens of ants encircled them.

* * *

/Team Terminator/

Vincent cradled the crippled form of Siobhan Dunleavy, grasping for the stimpacks in his bag. Fumbling with the syringe and with Siobhan's blouse, Ward managed to reveal her chest.

Her outfit had been tattered by the blast, leaving the remainder horrifically easy to remove. Her front was a scarred canvas, with welts, bruises, cuts and burns covering her stomach, sides, and breasts. Ward began to frantically apply the stims when Mirza clasped his shoulder.

"Vincent…"

"I need to save her; I need to save her she can't…" The collected commando was no longer present; instead a crying boy hunched over the broken body of the once feisty scribe occupied his place. "She can't…"

"Vincent she's-"

"No she isn't, damn it Elizabeth you'll be okay, just hold on please please hold on!"

Mirza looked to Palmer and Teo, neither of whom knew who Elizabeth was. Teo was having none of it.

"CAPTAIN VINCENT KAYSER!" That seemed to have snapped Vincent out of it. "Good, you're back. Let me tend to Siobhan. If I work fast I should be able to save her, but you need to press forward. So long as The Mechanist is alive he will keep sending more and more of his robots after us. If they break through, I won't be able to hold them off and stabilize her. Do you understand?" Teo moved to the other side of Siobhan and began taking out various medical chems to help treat her wounds.

"I do… I… Palmer, how many MFC's do you have?"

"Three shots, reserve of twelve and my last two clips in my utility belt."

"Mirza?"

"Less than twenty 5.56's on me, and then I've got to start hitting things with a bat. I don't think it will go well."

"All right, Mirza stay back and cover Teo's flank. Try to help with Siobhan if things settle down, but otherwise pick off anything that gets close." Mirza nodded and began to check for enemies in the maintenance room they had been fighting in.

"Palmer, you and I are going to take this son of a bitch down."

The big man nodded and leveled moved the Rifleman's stance, ready to put a bolt of superheated energy into anything that moved. Vincent led the security captain to a door on the main floor of the workshop.

"My marker has him behind this door. On three we go in guns blazing." Palmer nodded and grasped the handle.

"One… two… THREE!" Palmer shoved the door open, allowing Vincent to dive into the room.

* * *

/Team Exterminator/

Anais knew that the chances of them leaving this cave were dropping by the minute. She had holstered her pistols early into the fighting in favor of her sword. It was a prudent move, given the close quarters nature of their fighting. Leon and little Turchin seemed to be holding their own despite a nasty cut along the former's brow and the latter's resorting to using a switchblade as his last resort.

Sledge was a wrecking ball, barreling into troves of ants, smashing, stomping and crushing them. But even he was showing signs of slowing down.

When a large ant had tackled Sledge from behind he had managed to grasp hold of it and suplex it to the ground with a wet crunch. In the moment between the grasp and the crunch another ant had jumped on top of him and was snapping at his face.

Anais bounded towards the downed giant, neatly severing the ant's head from thorax before Sledge was downed. Covered in gore, Sledge grabbed the remainder of the ant's body and flung it at a nearby Ant Soldier, momentarily stunning it.

"We need to end this, now." Sledge nodded

"You are the only thing that will end now, little humans. You will fall to the swarm and your bones will decorate my throne!" The Antagonizer ordered another wave of soldiers to attack Anais and Sledge.

Leon emptied his last clip into the face of an Ant solider before tossing the rifle down and bounding towards the dais. Unsheathing a combat knife, he swatted at ants and lobotomized others that crawled down towards him.

"You wish to fight weak human? Let a queen show you how it is done!" All ants immediately stopped fighting and receded to the walls. The Antagonizer drew a long, sharpened kitchen knife and lunged at Leon.

Nate, covered in bites and sweating profusely, stumbled over to Anais and Sledge. The Outcast and the bruiser had locked onto the fight going on the Dais, watching the two fighters storm about with their knives, the songs of steel reverberating around the near silent chamber.

The Ants had also stopped, and had raised their eyes to the throne, clicking their mandibles in unison, as if spurring their queen on.

Leon neatly dodged a swipe from the Antagonizer before countering with an upward strike. The Antagonizer nimbly sidestepped the blow and brought her heel to bear on Leon's face. The Mercenary stumbled, but barely managed to stay on his feet. He reverse gripped his knife and began to carve savage arcs at the Antagonizer, who was pressed further and further back on the Dais. Her glistening blade in hand, the Antagonizer thrust forward landing a cut along Leon's shoulder.

It was all the opportunity Leon needed, as he drove the combat knife into the gut of the Antagonizer, twisting the knife. The queen shrieked, a sound that was less flanging than her earlier voice and more human. Her energy sapped, she dropped the knife to the ground, where it tumbled down the steps until it finally landed on the bottommost step of the Dais.

The Antagonizer looked at Leon and weakly raised her hand to slip off her mask. "Th-Th-Tha- Thank y-yo-you. I can re-rest now. They have stopped, the voices have stopped…" The voice was small and fragile, and the girl behind the mask was a far cry from the sadistic monster that had stood before him minutes earlier.

"Take… Knife. Take… charges… use it… cave in cavern…" She gurgled as blood began to trickle from the corners of her mouth. "And don't…" The girl let out a sigh and slumped in his arms. She had felt so light moments earlier, yet the weight seemed to be bringing him down.

As the ants began to back out of the cavern and into the tunnels, Anais bounded to the steps and gingerly handled the knife. "SLEDGE, NATE! Get over here!"

The two men followed after her. "Sledge, Leon's been poisoned. Retrieve him." The giant nodded and moved up the steps with some grace.

"Nate, we have less than an hour before a new queen is chosen. Instead of the focused attacks of the Antagonizer, we are looking at a true mindless swarm. Look around and grab anything of value before we get out of here."

"Anais…" Leon murmured as Sledge hoisted him over his shoulder.

"Leon? What is it?"

"Charges, she has charges…"

"Sledge, get him out of here. We'll rig the cavern."

The giant nodded and carried Leon out of the chamber and back through the labyrinth of the tunnels that led to the entrance. Anais began to frantically search for the charges, with the chattering of ants echoing all around them.

* * *

/Team Terminator/

Vincent and Palmer burst into the room before them, only to find a dead end room void of anything but what seemed to be junk.

"Well, that was unexpected. You sure your pip boy is correct?"

"The tracer that Haskel set up isn't wrong. It's showing him to be in here."

"Do you see a gaudy looking robot costumed jackass Kayser?"

"Check for anything that could be screwing up the signal." The two fanned out, checking monitors and other electric parts for any kind of signal that could be throwing them off. Vincent was inspecting an imposing computer panel on one end of the room when Palmer threw his hands up in frustration. "This is all junk, and this is pointless. We need to be sweeping the other rooms."

"The signal shows him as being right here. It's not wrong, because if it is then Haskel is wrong. He's a criminal mastermind who doesn't like to be proven wrong. Short of him taking me on, he isn't going to be wrong on anything."

"You put an awful lot of trust into people Kayser. Teodoro told me about what happened in Megaton, and to be completely honest with you I don't think Haskel has your best interests at heart."

Vincent stopped futzing with the panel and walked over to stare at Palmer at arm's length. "How exactly is that the case?"

"Not only did you shut down a megalomaniac perfectionist renown throughout the Capital Wasteland as the right hand of Alistair Tenpenny, you did it in front of a bunch of Mercenaries he considers beneath him. How can you not see the resentment behind that? You, an untrained boy took on one of the most ruthless men in DC and humiliated him in front of an audience. Beyond that Haskel has designs on this organization. He's not building it up for you; he's building it up for himself. He's waiting for the opportunity to spring on you-"

*crack*

Vincent had backhanded Palmer. "If, what you are saying is true I will handle it accordingly. Until you have more than words and wind, keep your damn mouth shut."

Palmer stumbled back into a table and grasped for the nearest object that he could find, which turned out to be a coffee maker.

*click*

Both men stopped and stared at the wall adjacent to the coffee maker, which had slid open to reveal a series of mechanisms and unlocked and neatly moved away revealing a costumed Mechanist, whose modified laser pistol was trained on Ward.

* * *

The world came rushing back in a blur. A ship, a bar, a desert, a trek, a house, a girl, an Abby, a fire, a fist, a whip, a chain, a key, a brand, a face, a light, a light, a light…

"UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHH!" Siobhan sat up on the catwalk, gulping at the air around her. It had felt as though she had been hit by one of those prewar buses you always saw ruined in towns and cities.

"Mierda! She's coming around!" Siobhan focused her vision to see a lanky, red robed kid leaning over her.

After a long second Siobhan's eye grew wide. "Derek!" hobbling to her feet, she looked down to see her scarred and wounded chest was exposed. Uncaring, she began to move when the unmistakable hiss of laser fire erupted from downstairs.

* * *

/Team Terminator/

Vincent and Palmer's eyes locked on the Mechanist.

"You are the men who have destroyed my robots, are you not?"

"Mechanist, we are here to bring you justice. Surrender and you will not be harmed."

The Man regarded him for a moment, before firing at Vincent's leg. Laser burned through pant leg and skin, causing Vincent to collapse to his knee in searing pain. Palmer moved to get up.

The Mechanist wheeled on him and fired one of his modified lasers into Palmer's side. The burly guard crumpled and flew back against the wall.

"I am justice. Who are you? Some adventurers who came to the aid of a lawless town of thieves and idlers? Are you fighting for the honor of Canterbury? Or for a fat paycheck?"

Vincent looked up to stare at the Mechanist and spoke through gritted teeth. "So the solution is to raze the town and all of its inhabitants? Since when is _that justice_?"

"The world of men has proven itself corrupt and ignorant. Only through dawn of robotics can the errors of man be rectified."

The door swung open to reveal a battered and defiant Siobhan.

"Derek Pacion thinks otherwise Scott."

The Mechanist turned his gun on the newcomer, but instead of firing stopped and watched her intently.

"Derek is a boy-"

"Derek knows who you were once Scott, he knows that you were a good man who helped Canterbury. He knows that you are hurting and that you need help. He knows that your robot was destroyed and above all else he wants to help."

"Justice comes above all others." The Mechanist mumbled his grip on the laser pistol not nearly as firm as he thought it was.

"Not when it comes at the expense of the innocent. Justice is about standing up for the innocent, about standing up for the little guy. It isn't justice anymore when you stomp on _him_."

The Mechanist's grip was loose on his weapon, and Ward wasn't going to take any chances. In one motion he unsheathed his knife from his boot and whipped it at the Pistol. The Knife sliced through Scott's hand, knocking the pistol out of his hand and making him cry out in pain.

Using the opportunity, Vincent used the last of his strength to dive through the newly made entrance and tackle the surprised Mechanist. Unholstering a pistol from his belt, Vincent rammed it against the side of Scott's helmet.

"Vincent, STOP!" Siobhan shouted across the room, racing over to Vincent.

"Vincent, you don't have to do this, you don't have to kill him."

"He's a threat. He's unbalanced and he's a threat to Canterbury." Vincent coolly justified.

"No he's not, look at him, he's beaten." Scott was staring straight at Vincent from behind his mask. He couldn't see the eyes, but he could feel them. Boring into him from behind hat stupid robot mask, the eyes of the man who had almost killed his Elizabeth…

"Vincent, you don't have to do this… you can stop."

"He almost killed you."

"He didn't."

"He almost killed us."

"He didn't."

"He killed my Elizabeth."

"Vincent, he didn't kill her."

And just like that, it stopped. This man hadn't killed Elizabeth. He wasn't responsible for the reaping of the north, for the fires in the city, for the smoke and the trogs. For the decay and corruption he had seen.

He was just a man, a man who was not seeing clearly. A man marred by past mistakes and horrors that shouldn't have mattered in a post war world. He needed help if he was going to be saved.

Vincent moved the gun away and slid it back into his belt. "We're done here. Go check on Palmer."

* * *

/Team Exterminator/

"Anais, I grabbed anything that looked important like you asked. Did you find the charges yet?"

The Outcast Knight ripped bins away from the walls of the Antagonizer's Lair. The makeshift bedroom off to the side of the central chamber was littered with miscellaneous items of junk and scrap with no regard for organization or order. The seconds ticked by as Anais recalled her studies of Ant colonies: After a queen died, either by natural causes or by murder the ants would select the most viable female for uplifting. Typical Mutant Ant colonies actually moved as autonomous units where the Queen was little more than a living Ant factory. She had no control over the ants, either individually or in their coordiantion. Anais had only seen a handful of Ant Colonies that acted like this nest here at Canterbury. The factor that tied them together was trace amounts of FEV in the bodies of the Ants or in their eggs.

That was what troubled Anais: A human queen with no ties to the ants physiologically controlled them in a coordinated fashion. The theories and hypothoses that were now shattered by this revelation were still giving Anais pause, even through her search for the-

"THERE YOU ARE! NATE! Get to the entrance!" Anais yelled as raced to the center of the room, setting the charges along the central pillar of the the Dais.

"Remote charges?" The mechanic asked nervously.

"Timed."

"Well... Of course they are." Nate muttered.

"It works better this way. We set the charges for a few minutes, dash for the entrance, and when they go off they will take out this chamber and most likely destabilize the entire cave network."

"What if it doesn't- Wait, did you say a few minutes?! Why in God's name are we racing the clock?!"

"Because-" Anais began to turn the dial to ten minutes. "Very, very soon the ants will select a new ant queen. Once she is in place, they will return to their normal activities. Namely, ripping apart the intruders in their hive." With an omninous beep, the antiquated demolition charges began to count downwards.

"Now, MOVE!" Anais shouted as Nate scrambled to the doorway.

* * *

/Team Exterminator/

The two had been racing through the winding tunnels of the colony when thousands of individual clicks began to echo from behind them.

"We are out of time Turchin, get your ass moving!" Anais bounded towards around the corner of the tunnel. Before her lay the maintenance hallway they had come in from. Nate hurried after her, clutching his knapsack of scavenged goods tightly. As the two raced up flights of stairs and past side rooms, they reached an equal pace. Anais took two steps at a time at the next staircase.

*snap* Anais saw the broken wire after she heard it and looked up to the ceiling in abject horror.

A bouquet of fragmentation grenades fell to the ground pinless. Anais dove forward, tackling the mechanic closer to the doorway and shielding him as the grenades hit the steps, bounced twice and then exploded.

Hot shrapnel tore through Anais' back and the sheer force of the explosion. Darkness swirled around her mind as the clicking grew louder, and the scurrying of little feet on bare metal flooded her senses.

* * *

Nate woke first, not knowing how many minutes had passed, not knowing how they were even alive after being knocked unconcious by a cluster of grenades.

As he sat up he noticed two things: The lithe form of Anais Viray was still breathing, albeit in ragged shallow bouts.

The second thing was a massive ant hvering not five feet away from them, mandibles slowly opening and closing as marble tar eyes stared vacantly at the pair.

Not making any drastic movements Nate assessed his situation carefully: Anais was unconcious at best, critically wounded and at death's doorstep at the worst. The charges they set had either yet to go off, or had made such a negligible difference that Ants could still reach the surface. He had no weapons on his person save for a switchblade in his overalls. And an ant the size of a corvega was staring him down from a laughable distance.

If he made it out of this alive, he would be talking to Vincent about some serious hazard pay.

As his eyes flicked over Anais he noticed a glimmer from one of her shoulder holsters. One of her fancy Plasma Pistols...

The question is, does it still even work.

The Ant's mandible snapped shut as it took a scuttle forward. 'What would Vincent do?'

Nate snatched the pistol from it's holster and squeezed down on the trigger wildly, sending bursts of searing hot Plasma in the direction of the Ant. As it screeched in agony at the energy induced burns, Nate jumped up and grabbed Anais by her arms and dragged her down the hallway. No more stairs, no more traps, just fifteen feet of ground and the maintenance hatch...

A dull thrum sounding somewhere deep within the cavern shaking the ceiling and making the emergency lights along the hallway flicker. The Ant furiously charged forward, half blind and frenzied by it's wounds.

Nate didn't even pause as he yanked Anais backwards towards the hatch. All other sounds were drowned out by the sound of rock collapsing upon itself. Nate turned to face the hatch, flinging it open and grabbing Anais. The Ant was nearly on them, screeching violently as a wave of dust issued from the back of the corridor.

With every last bit of strength, Nate dragged Anais into the crimson light of the Capital Wasteland. He didn't even have time to close the door as the wave of debris exploded outwards, knocking himself and Anais out of the entrance and onto the dry earth.

* * *

A/N: Quite a bit happened here, didn't it folks? Look for the next chapter, to be posted in a few hours.

This installment of the Cowboy trilogy will be wrapping up rather neatly. Work on the second act (And by far the biggest of the three) will begin following the epilogue.

Until then, thanks for reading! Make sure to review and rate. And please feel free to drop me a line if you have any comments, concerns, suggestions. I'm open to doing various missions from the main game and right now the "meat" of the story is still kind of vague. So if you really want to see one kind of mission over another, please do let me know!

This is Blue-Jaye, singing off. ;)


	27. Goethe's Respite

It had been twelve hours since Sledge had returned to Canterbury with the body of Leon Sforza in his arms.

Vincent had been sitting outside of Joe Porter's Diner with his leg propped up on a chair and a frown plastered on his face. Palmer was currently inside of the town hall, in one of the spare rooms, being attended by both Mirza and Teo. Canterbury lacked a proper doctor, save for their Merchant traveler Doc Hoff. Hoff was currently halfway across the wasteland if Roe's logbook could be believed.

For the time being, Palmer would have to be looked after by two fledgling scientists with minimal medical experience. Siobhan, the iron pony that she was, was not only moving around the town but had actually taken to coordinating the shoring up of its defenses.

Shoring up the defenses, meant convincing a bunch of wasteland settlers that The Mechanist- Scott, was actually here to help protect the town from all future threats.

That was the reason Vincent was frowning. That and the prospect of losing two close lieutenants, one of whom had become a fast friend. Leon had been set up in the same room as Palmer, receiving a steady dosage of Med-X to help ease his pain. Teo had been running tests on the poison that coated the blade, but since he was neither a medical doctor nor equipped with anything remotely close to a proper research suite.

The forecast would be one dead friend and one crippled lieutenant by the time that the dawn had broken. To add further fuel to the fire was the apparent deaths of Anais and Nate. After Sledge had returned with Leon en tow, Vincent asked what had become of the pair. Sledge said that they had remained behind to set the charges. Vincent had ordered him to return to the tunnel and see if he could find any clues to their whereabouts.

He returned an hour later. The tunnel was collapsed and there was no sign of the two outside of it. Vincent had slammed his hand down in unbridled rage. More than a sixth of his team was either dead or incapacitated. He had ordered Sledge to back up Siobhan with the defenses. The giant nodded slowly, face still impassive at the command. If he felt any loss for his companions he didn't show it.

After many hours and drinks had passed, Vincent found himself sitting outside alone in the darkness. A small battery operated lamp was his only source of light, and the eerie silence of the town, save its robotic guardians patrolling the streets, led Vincent to believe that he was the solitary figure awake.

"Mr. Kayser, I do believe we need to talk about your shoddy work here."

Vincent poured another shot of whiskey and gripped the glass tightly as Roe ponderously sat himself in the unoccupied chair adjacent to Vincent's leg.

"And what did you find shoddy about us saving your asses?" Vincent attempted cordially, although the bite in his voice could be heard by any man with half a brain.

Roe was lacking even that. "For starters, one of our terrorists is not only breathing, but he's patrolling my goddamned town with his robots. The same robots that attacked us not four days ago. On top of that you have the audacity to destroy Canterbury's Maintenance Tunnels, once a prime spot for storage and hording weaponry. Now I have another damn rock. I am not happy with your services Mr. Kayser."

Vincent gulped down the whiskey in one shot, letting the burn eat away at the bile that had risen in his throat.

"Siobhan tells me that Scott was once the town's mechanic. Now he has sworn to serve Canterbury in its defense and aid. If he wanted to take us out, he wouldn't have spread his robots out over the town and then loaned his entire arsenal of Pulse explosives, energy cells and other weapons to your stockpile. Furthermore, two of my men are missing, presumed dead at this point, while another two are grasping for life. Siobhan, who made a speedy recovery following an explosion mind you, has scouted the other entrances to the Canterbury Caverns. All of them have been caved in, and we haven't seen a single ant around those regions all night. Three separate raider nests around your town have been completely razed. I'm not sure what you were angling for Roe, but it seems to me like we've done a fine job of keeping your ungrateful ass alive."

"I'm reducing your payment by three hundred caps." Vincent felt like he was punched in the stomach.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me boy: Three hundred caps, for the damages you've inflicted in your subpar services."

Vincent contemplated how much damage he would do to his recovering knee if he lunged across the table at Roe.

"Three hundred caps? Why Roe, you're getting soft in your old age." A lighter ignited to Vincent's right, illuminating the face of Haskel Margulies.

Roe's brow furrowed at the sudden appearance of the gaunt man. "Haskel, I thought you were asleep…"

"It's not easy finding rest on a hard pallet." Haskel murmured disdainfully. "But I digress: I believe we were talking about you shortchanging a band of Mercenaries who coordinated the salvation of your hovel, were we not?" Hard eyes stared out at Roe as Haskel took a long drag of his cigarette.

"I lost a significant investment when your men collapsed those tunnels."

"My men?" Haskel clicked his tongue in condescension. "I'm not their commander Roe, Captain Kayser is. And as I see it, my comrades did a resplendent job of eliminating their enemies, albeit at the expense of some of our most talented officers. If anything I think that you will need to repay us for our valiant sacrifices for your establishment."

"I- I will do no such thing!" Roe stammered. "You can't order me around in my own town! I'm the mayor, and Canterbury thrives because of the caravans that I manage."

"Yes, yes it does doesn't it. Lucky Harith, Doc Hoff, Crow, Crazy Wolfgang, Mama Mercy, Sally and Danny, The McCloud Brothers, Illusive Ilsa, Fenwick, The Aldermaast Twins. And others I suppose but those are your big players. These are the caravans that travel all over Washington to sell in the name of Canterbury. Tell me Roe, how much do you pay them?"

"Fair wages. Two hundred caps per circuit."

"If you call those fair wages, then I've miscalculated how much damage has been done to you since we last met. Regardless, have you considered what makes Canterbury their resting spot when they could easily set up shop elsewhere? I would like to think it is location, but when we must be honest with ourselves we do not skewer truths. And let's face the facts Roe: The only reason they come crawling back to you is because Canterbury is _safe enough_." Haskel delivered the words with such icy venom that even Vincent sat up a little straighter.

"What are you saying Haskel?" Roe whimpered quietly, not mistaking Haskel's tone for a moment.

"I'm saying that the wasteland is a dangerous place, and every caravan you lose will be one less caravan paying for this town to stay alive. And when you cease to be useful you will be tossed into the desert like the pariah you deserve to be. That is, if you find yourself lucky enough to be alive, at which point I will believe in fate."

"Wh-wh-what?!"

"Fate, I don't believe in it currently. I only believe in opportunity and one's ability to seize it. But I will put more stock in faith if you manage to survive should your entire industry fold upon itself. That won't happen, unless you find yourself stupid enough to challenge me in this matter. We've given you a very sumptuous deal Roe: A new defense system, a sweep of the surrounding area and all for a very small cost. You will pay us the full price we negotiated, and more for my fallen comrades."

"This is extortion! Blackmail! I will report you to the Regulators!" Roe seemed to be grasping for straws.

"The Regulators are undermanned and dealing with far more severe issues than some rowdy little mercenaries. For instance, I explicitly seem to recall seeing a memo to Alistair from a Commander Jabsco concerning the recirculation of arms to his northern Talon Cells. Recirculation, emanating from _organized caravan companies_."

Roe's face went pale. "L-L-Li-Lies! I've never negotiated with those animals!"

"Tell me Roe, whose word holds more weight: The Right hand of Alistair Tenpenny, who has left his crooked master to atone for his sins? Or the snake oil peddling lard whose grip on his town is slipping through his fingers?"

"Roe, I want what we were promised and the supplies we came to acquire in the first place. Give us the supplies as collateral for the deaths of Anais and Nate and all you will have to pay us is the original rates we agreed upon. I don't want to back up my pet Deathclaw here, but Haskel makes some particularly compelling arguments for unseating you. If you weren't so damn convenient you would not be drawing breath. So, honor our bargain and stop being a bastard about this."

Roe stared blankly at Vincent, thoroughly derailed by Haskel's ominous threats. "I could have every one of you killed. You are threatening the very town itself, and Scott has my back. You are weak now, and no one is coming for you." Roe pointed a finger accusingly at Haskel

Two shots pierced the night, coming from behind Vincent. The first shot severed Roe's pointer finger from his hand, while the other clipped his arm.

"Wrong answer Bucko."

Vincent turned in his chair to see a familiar outline aiming at Roe. "I thought I ordered you to stay at Ridgefield?"

Ginny stepped into the light, flanked by Felix, Jesse, and…

"Dr. Barnaby? What the hell are you doing out here?!" Vincent gaped.

Ginny holstered her pistol. "It's been three days since we had any kind of word from you guys. Did you really think we were going to leave you alone?! I cleared it with Lazarus and took the worst case scenario team: The doctor, the scout and the-"

"Bad Motherfucker." Jesse grinned petulantly.

Ginny gave him a look but otherwise pressed on. "Something like that. What do you need us to do Vincent?"

Roe cried from his seat, grasping his bloodied stump and spouting vulgarities at Ginny. Vincent ignored him, frankly tired of his antics. Even if they were sincere this time around. "Doc, I need you to go straight up to the top floor of the town hall. Leon has been poisoned and he needs an anti-venom, and Palmer is still unconscious from high impact laser fire."

"Well worth the stroll in the desert then. Allow me to prove Faust's folly. Gentlemen." The Ghoul Doctor took his medical bag and walked straight towards the Town Hall.

"Jesse, Felix. Anais and Nate… we don't know if they made it. Sledge said that the tunnel collapsed just north of here, but he doesn't have a tracker's eye. I need you two to go see if you can confirm whether they did get confirmed under a ton of rubble or if they got out."

"North you said boss?" Felix confirmed. Vincent nodded and off the point lookout trapper and Lamplight scavenger went.

That left Ginny, Roe, Haskel and Vincent alone at their table. Roe was still sobbing over his finger when Ginny walked over to him, nimbly withdrew a Stimpak from her belt pouch and jammed it into Roe's stump. "Now shut your damn trap, you giant pussy!"

Roe roared before slumping over on the table. Haskel's mouth was upturned in a ghost of a smile at the proceedings, and even though he wasn't exactly wild about the approach, Ginny seemed to have gotten through the bastard in a way that Haskel and Vincent had both failed to do.

"What do you want done Vincent?"

"Now we wait Ginny. We wait and see if our worst fears are confirmed."

* * *

"It always this damn cold up here?" Josiah asked out as the pair trudged through the hilly scrub towards the Canterbury Tunnels.

Truth be told, Felix didn't exactly know what Vincent expected them to find. He had seen cave-ins before, and there wasn't a whole lot you could do about them. Friends lost to collapsing roofs or ancient tunnels were rarely recovered, and only after it was absolutely necessary. When a western tunnel collapsed in Little Lamplight on five children, it was a tragedy for a week. Then it was a hassle that needed to be fixed.

"Sometimes the nights are hotter. It depends Josiah, Jesse, Whatever the hell your name is."

The big trapper stopped in his tracks. "Kid, you wan' tone down your 'tude fore I rip you a new hole."

Felix snorted. "Right. Then clarify what the hell I'm supposed to call you."

"My momma named me Josiah Hunter Johnston. She called me Jesse for short. Too hard for you kid?"

"Sorry, chill out man. I'm Felix, but they called me Wolfman back in Lamplight."

"Lamplight? What the hell is that place?"

"A safe haven run by kids. It's a long story."

"Why Wolfman?"

"Two reasons mostly." The two crested the ridge. Leading to the entrance of the cave. "The first was that I was a vicious fighter. Like an animal. I didn't disagree."

The two walked towards the collapsed maintenance hatch. "And what was the other?"

Felix closed his eyes before opening them slowly, revealing faintly glowing green irises.

"HOLY FUCKIN' SHITBALLS!" Jesse unholstered his Sawn-Off Shotgun

"Again, with the chilling man. I can see real well in the dark."

Jesse paused and looked skeptical. "I know, it sounds crazy and shit. But it's useful, like right now."

"Why did'ja say so?"

"There are tracks leading down the hill, right here." Felix walked past Jesse and over to the side of the Maintenance hatch. Jesse held up his lantern and squinted, noting drag marks along with wall of the rock and heading towards the right. "Let's go crazy eyes, they may still be kickin'."

The two followed the trail for half an hour before reaching a small depression in the side of the rock. There they both gasped.

The battered body of Anais Viray held a heavily bloodied Nate Turchin in her hands. Her eyes never left his bruised face and the two trackers overheard her murmuring to herself repeatedly.

"He saved me from the tunnel. He didn't have to but he did. He saved me. And what did I do for him?"

"Anais?" Felix asked. The Knight's eyes flickered over the two men standing over her. "Anais we need to get you back to town, now!"

Anais remained quiet, merely stroking Nate's hair. "We fought hard, but he just… didn't make it."

It was then that Josiah noticed the bodies. Raiders, at least half a dozen fanned out around the two. Plasma burns and even sword cuts. Anais didn't even look as though she could stand, let alone fight.

"Anais, let go. We'll take him back."

The Knight nodded softly and moved to stand, only to buckle. Felix offered her a shoulder.

Josiah scooped up the body of Nate Turchin, so small and beaten and trudged off behind Felix and Anais.

"We need help, right now damnit!" Felix shouted as he aided the fatigued Anais up the hill, Josiah right behind him.

* * *

Dawn had broken over the Wasteland, and Siobhan was on watch to receive them.

"Oh God, no not Nate. We need to get him to Barnaby!"

"Siobhan… if we hurry we can save Anais."

The Irish brawler moved to support Felix and helped Anais up into the Town Hall. "Jesse, bring Nate as well."

"He's gone girl-"

"JUST DO IT GOD DAMN IT!"

"Siobhan-"

"DID I STUTTER BOYO?!" Siobhan snarled at the trapper. With a reluctant sigh, Jesse readjusted his grip on Nate's body and moved up the stairs into the town hall.

Climbing up the stairs was a physical challenge but they were able to get into the doctor's room. Teo was seated along the wall, opposite to the door. When he turned around he dropped the book he was examining. Dr. Barnaby looked up from the culture he was growing. "Put her on that bed, him on this bed."

"Doc, he's-"

"Did I stutter you wet eared pup?! Put him on the bed!" Jesse grumbled yet again but set Nate down tenderly on the bed before storming out of the room. Siobhan and Felix helped move Anais onto the bed. "You can leave us now. You as well Teo. You don't want to be in here when I have to get messy."

"What are going to do to them?" Siobhan asked, unnerved by the Doctor's nonchalant tone.

"Work a Faustian Miracle little girl. Now, run along and tell Vincent that Leon should be fine."

Felix left the room without quarrel, and Teo attempted to object but was cut down by Barnaby's glare. "I wasn't jesting when I said you should leave the room. You will not be the same after you see what I have to do to save his life."

"He's dead. He can't be brought back."

Barnaby shook his head. "Not dead. Catatonic."

Siobhan's eyes widened to the proportion of saucers. "Impossible, he doesn't have a pulse."

"He's been sitting in the Wasteland for at least six hours now and there isn't a trace of corruption on his body. He's in shock, and he will die if you don't let me work in peace. Now, go." The words were spoken with such finality that gave Anais pause. "Doc… don't turn him…"

Barnaby actually snorted. "A childish measure. Wholly unnecessary."

Siobhan nodded and left the Ghoul doctor, pausing at the doorway before taking a deep breath and heading downstairs.

* * *

Everything burned.

Nate bolted upright sucking in breath as though his head had been forced underwater for several seconds too long.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, brightly lit room he realized that he was no longer in the Wastes. He also realized that he wasn't alone.

Across from him sat Doctor Barnaby in a chair, legs crossed and hands folded on his lap. Next to him was Officer Palmer, shirtless and bandaged.

"I'll be damned Barnaby, you actually did it."

"Welcome back to the land of the living Mr. Turchin. How are you feeling?"

"Where… There were raiders and Anais… wait ANAIS! ANAIS! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Nate looked around the room, not seeing any sign of the Outcast Knight.

Barnaby waved his hand dismissively. "I released her two hours ago. In fact, you and Officer Palmer are the only two patients left at Canterbury's makeshift ICU."

"Speak English Doctor Ghoul, where am I?"

"And isn't that ironic? Well you are in the Town Hall of Canterbury Commons. It's been two days since I brought you out of your catatonic state. It took some pretty powerful chems to do it, and a little bit of pre-war medical science. You're lucky I was here, otherwise you would never have woken up."

"What… what kind of chems…?"

Barnaby merely smiled that tight lipped smile of his. "You would rather not know Mr. Turchin. Although now you won't have to worry about radiation…"

Horrified, Nate looked down to see his hands…

…That were not ghoulified.

"That's just cruel Doc."

Barnaby chuckled. "Relax Mr. Turchin, you aren't a ghoul, not now and not unless you decide to take a nice long swim in the Potomac."

Nate looked relieved, but otherwise felt exhausted. "I think I can get up…"

"No, if you do you will fall over. Feel free to rest your eyes child, you _will_ get to open them again."

* * *

**Next Chapter is the epilogue for this act in the series. Keep an eye out for it either later tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	28. Epilogue - Homeward We'll Be Wending

Vincent and the group stood outside of the town Hall expectedly, awaiting Doctor Barnaby to descend from his surgical suite to deliver the news about their apparently dead mechanic. Felix and Jesse swore up and down that Nate was dead, and even Teo was less than optimistic about his recovery.

Palmer, Nate, Anais. All of their lives hinged upon the medical prowess of a deranged ghoul with an appetite for mind games.

Vincent would have been less than optimistic had he not been a patient under the good doctor's care not a month ago.

And didn't that thought just smash him in the face: It had been nearly two months since he and Lazarus had crept into the Capital Wasteland, in search of less dangerous haunts than the north had to offer. Multiple injuries aside, he thought that he had done pretty well for himself here: A full company of mercenaries, hundreds of caps per mission, a whole base to turn impenetrable. And of course…

"Vince, will you please get that goofy-ass look off of your face?! Someone's coming outside!" Ginny playfully shoved at her lover, tension and worry gone for the moment. Despite the things she had seen, hell despite the things she had done, she still retained the bright cheerfulness that made her positively radiant.

Slipping an arm around her shoulder, Vincent pulled Ginny in close and turned his eyes upon the doorway to the Town Hall. Striding out of its entrance was not the first person they were expecting, but a welcome sight nonetheless.

The nimble Anais, her agility unbowed by her recent downturn of luck, dove out of the entrance, somersaulting forward until landing on one hand and knee. Rising slowly and surely, Anais made no attempt to hide the smile on her face.

"That man may very well be a miracle worker. A cryptic, creepy miracle worker, but que sera sera."

"I'm not sure what that means Anais, I don't speak tribal languages."

"_Oy Pendejo_! Since when is Española a tribal language?!" Teo shouted indignantly from Vincent's right.

"Simmer down now, I think I see my favorite bastard at the stairwell." Leon said a wry smile on his face. His recovery had taken a lot out of him, but other than a temporarily pale complexion, he was otherwise hale and healthy.

As stated, Palmer took long, clear strides out of the building. He was adorned in his battered Rivet City Armor, which couldn't have been comfortable for a man whose side had been charred not three days prior.

If it bothered him he gave no sign of feeling pain.

Palmer walked towards the cluster of his compatriots, turning first to Teo and Mirza to his left.

"You boys did a good job of keeping me alive, even before Barnaby showed up you two did everything to keep me from giving up the ghost. I don't know how I can repay that kind of gratitude, but I will." The basso rumble of the Ex-Security chief may have been ironclad.

"Jaroslav, what did you see about Nate?"

"He's…" Before Palmer could finish his sentence, a gasp came from Siobhan to Vincent's left.

Vincent tore his eyes immediately to the doorway where Dr. Barnaby was descending the stairs, assisting a very alive Nate Turchin to the outside.

The citizens of Canterbury had gathered outside once Dr. Barnaby had announced that his patients were recovering. After two nights of the mercenaries recounting tales of their comrades gruesome near deaths in battle, the speculation began to run rampant amongst the various settlers about the strange ghoul doctor and his apparent necromantic powers.

Now Nate stood, albeit with the aid of Dr. Barnaby. Machete and Derek screamed in shock, and other settlers murmured amongst themselves about how this twig of a boy had somehow survived tumbling with grenades, a cave-in, giant ants, a pack of raiders, and the elements.

"I canna believe you're alive little Anatoliy, how in god's name did you make it out of the cavern alive?!"

"I dragged Anais surprisingly heavy butt out of there. Oh by the way, _Captain_ Kayser? The next time you send me into a cave filled with vicious insects, I want some _serious_ Hazard pay."

Vincent chuckled lightly. "The next time we send you into a cavern full of giant insect, we will give you flamers, not peashooters."

Nate clicked his tongue. "Promises, Promises."

"Captain? If I may interject, Mr. Turchin, Mr. Palmer and Miss Viray are all cleared for movement. As soon as Haskel shores up our accounts we can depart from Ridgefield."

Vincent nodded surely. Apart from some close calls, this mission had worked out properly: Canterbury was safe from three separate threats; the town had a newly installed defense system that could mince any threat to tiny pieces; and the group had made off with a fabulous amount of loot.

"Vincent, when we get back to Ridgefield I want to go over these documents I lifted from the Antagonizer's lair. It seems to be a coded ledger of sorts, and who knows what it could lead to?"

"We'll talk shop once we get a chance to stop and rest out breaths kid, until then let's enjoy the fact that we all made it out of this in one piece." Leon jested.

And perhaps the most convenient victory of all was waiting for them at the ramp leading down to the wastes…

"…And remember Roe, I expect Ridgefield to be added to the Caravan route, and we have a specialty discount for both our services and our discretion. Ahh, here are my compatriots and now I will leave your presence. Do know that I'll be keeping up with you in the near future. Good day now!" Haskel walked away from sour faced Roe, whose bandaged hand was trembling in anger from being had by Haskel.

It couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

"All right men, let's move out! We can make Ridgefield before sundown at this rate!"

* * *

Siobhan brought up the rear of the group, saying her goodbyes to the settlers she had come to know in the last week. Especially with her main man Derek Pacion.

"Wow Sho-van! You guys are like so awesome! You're like, a Super Mutant riding a Deathclaw into battle! Or no, like The Manta-Man! Oh my gosh, you guys are totally super heroes!"

Siobhan laughed at the gob smacked young boy. It had been years since she had seen a child so happy or eager to enjoy life. So much of her time in the wasteland was filled with the ever lingering threats of hunger, radiation and death. So little of life anymore had become living, and to see one who could find joy in this world was hope enough for the future.

"Oh my gosh, you know who you guys are really like though?! I read about them in these comics called "Frontier Tales! They're called Cowboys!"

"Cowboys, eh boyo? Do I look like a Brahmin herder to you?" Siobhan chortled in jest.

"No! The real cowboys, the ones who slung bullets and rode through the deserts, searching for hidden treasure or seeking justice for their enemies or vengeance for their friends. You guys are totally like that! You guys are so Cowboys!"

"Hmmm, y'know little man? You may just be onto something now…"

Derek beamed at the scribe as she descended the ramp, out into the wastes and towards her home. She would have to talk to Vincent about a proper name on the trail back. Something with a nice vigilant ring to it…

* * *

**First off the bat, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing my story. This was my first and biggest project and I cannot properly express my gratitude at all of you who took a chance on this shifty looking "All OC Main CHaracters" Fallout story. Seriously, you guys are the best and you have all been wonderfully supportive and encouraging throughout this whole writing process and I just want to thank you for tuning in to my work.**

**Next up, this isn't the end of this series: Yep, there will be a second installment that will be huge. I imagine somewhere in the neighborhood of several hundred thousand words, and eating up the lion's share of content from Fallout 3. It may or may not feature the DLC's, (By now the more perceptive members of the group have figured out that The Pitt and Point Lookout are going to factor back into this story) but regardless it will be the bulk of the cowboy's adventures in the wastes. **

**Why did I complete this story when I did? Because it felt right. It seemed silly to make this massive story right off the bat when I always wanted to go off and make a trilogy. Wrapping up "The Superhuman Gambit" as a sort of introductory session made a lot of sense when the framework for the story was taken into account. The players have been introduced, backstories have been hinted at, and the initial premise has been set up. **

**What will the coming installments bring forth? The next one as I said will deal with the exploits of the Cowboys. There will be a commin original thread tying them together [Two of them were hinted at in the last three chapters ;) ;) ] but it will mostly be following general trails of the main missions with Cowboy narratives and twists. I'm not big on word for word novelizations, so expect them to be more entertaining broadstrokes like you saw for this last mission. If you hated that, then you may want to let me know so I can retool them to be more entertaining. **

**What else you ask? Well the backstories will fill the cracks of the story, dealing with Ginny's quest fro revenge, Nate and Leon's fractious family ties, Dr. Barnaby's pre-war life, Sledge's life before mercenary work, Jaxon's reason for leaving the Talons, Siobhan's whole deal, and Haskel's many machinations. There will also be more romance and sexytimes. If you really don't like that, then you had best let me know prior to posting it. I'll include them if no one says a word, but if you give me constructive criticism, it will shape the story. Trolling or personal distaste... well you can always go read another original story.**

**As for the third act? That's still up in the air, but I'll have to tackle the Enclave eventually. Maybe less Project Purity and more total warfare. Doesn't that sound like a fun concept?! :D**

**As for everything else, I plan on starting a semi-humourous, background bridging story as a supplemental text to this. I won't give you any spoilers, but think of the worst Freud and Jung have to offer to the Cowboys... :3**

**And with that faithful readers, we conclude this chapter of Capital Cowboys, only to start anew soon. In the Interim you can read the fantastic 18 Karat Run Series by JRisner, which is a fantastic novelization of Fallout New Vegas. If you like crossovers, ErtheKing has a wonderful ME/Fallout Crossover titled "From Ashes" **

**If you like my work, feel free to check out my current stories! Grissom's Legacy is similar to this style but set within an AU Mass Effect Universe, and The Beacon Hills Caravan Company is a Teen Wolf/Fallout Crossover. Even if it isn't your cup of tea you might want to give them a try. After all, adventure and curiosity are gambles that either pay off really well, or end in death. I doubt Fanfiction can kill you... Addendum: I doubt sane fanfiction can kill you. I can't vouch for some of the stuff out there. ;)**

**Until we meet again, this is Blue-Jaye, signing off.**


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